i 

-    -*AKA    STATE   C©Ll_EOE 


NAPOLEON    III 

AT   THE   HEIGHT   OF   HIS   POWER 


PIUS   IX. 


NAPOLEON    III 


AT  THE  HEIGHT  OF  HIS  POWER 


BY 

IMBERT    DE    SAINT-AMAND 


TRANSLATED  BY 

ELIZABETH   GILBERT   MARTIN 


WITH  PORTRAITS 


NEW   YORK 

CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S   SONS 

1912 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,   BY 
CHARLES   SCRIBNER'S   SONS 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
SANTA  BAB  <ARA  COLLEGE  LIB^AI 


iTATS  Tl*r.Ht»^    COLLI" 
9*KTA    tAMlAR*.   CAI.IfOftHU 


CONTENTS 


OHAPTEI 
I. 

1 

PASS 
1 

II. 
III. 

IV. 

7 

14 
20 

V. 
VI. 

The  Religious  Agitation 

26 
33 

VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 

X. 

XI. 

The  Death  of  the  Grand  Duchess  Stephanie.. 

41 
46 
52 
60 
66 

XII. 
XIII. 

73 
80 

XIV. 
XV. 

/ 

86 
91 

XVI. 

99 

VI  CONTENTS 

OHAPTKR  pAGK 

XVII.  Pius  Ninti 105 

XVIII.  The  Due  de  Gramont Ill 

XIX.  General  de  Lamoriciere 116 

XX.  The  Pontifical  Army 123 

XXI.  Garibaldi , 129 

XXII.  Francis  II 135 

XXIII.  The  Interview  of  Baden 141 

XXIV.  The  Syrian  Massacres 148 

XXV.  Syria  and  England 156 

XXVI.  The  Journey  in  the  Southeast 164 

XXVII.  Nice 174 

XXVIII.  Ajaccio 180 

XXIX.  Algiers 184 

XXX.  The  Piedmontese  Invasion 193 

XXXI.  Castelfidardo 199 

XXXII.  Ancona  207 

XXXIII.  The  Syrian  Expedition 214 

XXXIV.  The  Kingdom  of  Naples 220 

XXXV.  The  Diplomatic  Protests 228 

XXXVI.  The  Interview  of  Warsaw 236 

XXXVII.  Victor  Emmanuel  at  Naples 244 

XXXVIII.  The  Decree  of  November  24 253 


CONTENTS  vii 


CHAPTER  PAOK 

XXXIX.     The  Forts  of  Taku 259 

XL.     The  Ambush  of  Tung-Chad 266 

XLI.     The  Battle  of  Palikao   273 

XLII.     The  Summer  Palace 279 

XLIII.     The  Treaty  of   Pekin 287 

Conclusion 296 


PORTRAITS 

Pope  Pius  IX Frontispiece 

General  de  Lamoriciere 116 

Francis  II.  of  Naples  and  Sicily 136 

Garibaldi 244 


NAPOLEON   III.  AT  THE  HEIGHT 
OF  HIS  POWER 

CHAPTER  I 

NEW   YEAR'S   DAY 

f  I  THERE  were  many  people  who  wondered  on  wak- 
■*-  ing  up  January  1,  1860,  whether  the  day  would 
pass  without  some  such  dramatic  stroke  as  had 
marked  the  first  day  of  the  year  just  ended.  They 
remembered  the  calm  and  courteous  tone  in  which 
Napoleon  III.  had  addressed  to  the  Austrian  ambas- 
sador the  phrase  that  had  been  the  signal  for  the  war 
of  Italy.  Was  the  Emperor  again  to  use  language 
which  would  agitate  all  Europe?  Nothing  of  the 
kind ;  the  reception  of  the  Diplomatic  Corps  took 
place  at  the  Tuileries  without  any  striking  incident. 
The  Pope's  Nuncio,  as  dean  of  that  body,  merely  paid 
the  compliments  of  the  season  and  expressed  the  good 
wishes  and  respects  of  the  Diplomatic  Corps.  Napo- 
leon III.  replied,  "I  am  happy  to  remember  that 
since  my  accession  to  power,  I  have  always  professed 
the  most  profound  respect  for  all  recognized  rights, 
and  it  will  be  the  constant  aim  of  my  efforts  to  re- 
establish universal  confidence  and  peace,  so  far  as  it 

B  1 


NAPOLEON  III 


depends  on  me."  This  declaration  was  vague,  but 
contained  no  menace. 

The  same  day,  the  Emperor  received  a  letter  writ- 
ten by  Queen  Victoria  the  day  before.  Her  Britannic 
Majesty  expressed  herself  as  follows  :  "  May  the  year 
which  is  beginning  bring  you  happiness  and  content- 
ment. That  which  is  just  ended  was  stormy  and 
painful,  and  has  left  sorrow  in  many  hearts.  I  pray 
God  that  in  the  coming  one  the  work  of  pacification, 
with  all  the  benefits  that  brings  to  the  progress  and 
repose  of  the  world,  may  be  accomplished  without 
impediments.  There  will  be  many  divergent  ideas, 
many  apparently  hostile  interests  to  conciliate  ;  but, 
heaven  assisting,  and  we  ourselves  seeking  nothing 
but  the  happiness  of  those  whom  we  are  called  to 
govern,  there  is  no  room  to  despair  of  things  turn- 
ing out  well." 

The  Emperor  replied,  "I  hope  the  opening  year 
will  not  be  marked  by  any  of  those  vicissitudes  which 
disturbed  the  year  1859  ;  and  what  I  especially  desire 
is  that  in  the  interest  of  the  progress  and  peace  of 
the  universe,  it  may  draw  still  closer  the  bonds  of 
our  alliance,  which  has  always  been  fertile  in  good 
results." 

But  if  New  Year's  Day  had  given  rise  to  nothing 
abnormal  at  Paris,  it  was  otherwise  at  Rome.  The 
Due  de  Gramont,  ambassador  of  France,  wrote  to 
the  Comte  Walewski,  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs: 
"An  incident  which  was  almost  painful  character- 
ized the  reception  at  the  Vatican  of  the  generals  and 


NEW  YEAR'S  DAY  3 

chiefs  of  the  French  army.  Yielding  to  the  pre- 
occupations which  have  absorbed  him  for  several 
days,  the  Holy  Father  gave  way  to  his  feelings  in 
replying  to  General  de  Goyon,  and  some  remarks, 
uttered  in  a  tone  and  with  an  energy  not  usual  with 
him,  have  made  a  political  event  at  Rome  of  an 
audience  which,  until  to-day,  had  never  been  more 
than  an  exchange  of  formal  compliments." 

General  de  Goyon  had  just  presented  to  Pius  IX. 
the  respects  of  the  army  of  occupation.  The  Holy 
Father  replied :  "  General,  if  every  year  we  have 
received  with  pleasure  the  good  wishes  which  you 
offered  in  the  name  of  the  brave  officers  and  the 
army  you  so  worthily  command,  these  wishes  are 
doubly  dear  to-day  on  account  of  the  exceptional 
events  which  have  succeeded,  and  because  you  assure 
us  that  the  French  division,  now  in  the  Pontifical 
States,  is  placed  there  to  defend  the  rights  of  Catho- 
licity. In  that  case,  may  God  bless  you  and  all  the 
French  army !  May  He  also  bless  all  classes  of  that 
generous  nation !  " 

The  close  of  the  Pope's  allocution  bore  witness  to 
the  alarm  and  anxiety  which  he  had  been  suffering, 
especially  since  the  publication  of  the  brochure 
entitled  The  Pope  and  the  Congress.  With  an 
emotion  which  communicated  itself  to  his  hearers, 
the  Holy  Father  uttered  these  ardent  and  pathetic 
words :  "  Prostrate  at  the  feet  of  that  God  who 
was,  and  is,  and  will  be  for  eternity,  we  pray  Him, 
in  humility  of  heart,  to  send  down  His  graces  and 


NAPOLEON  III 


illuminations  upon  the  august  head  of  that  army 
and  nation,  so  that  thus  enlightened,  he  may  walk 
with  safety  in  his  difficult  path  and  continue  to 
recognize  the  falsity  of  certain  principles  which 
have  lately  made  their  appearance  in  a  little  work 
that  one  might  call  a  signal  monument  of  hypocrisy, 
an  ignoble  tissue  of  contradictions.  We  hope,  nay 
more,  we  are  persuaded,  that  with  the  aid  of  these 
illuminations  he  will  condemn  the  principles  con- 
tained in  this  pamphlet.  We  are  the  more  fully 
persuaded  of  this  because  he  has  from  time  to  time 
sent  us  several  documents  which  are  still  in  our 
possession,  and  which  are  a  real  condemnation  of 
those  principles.  It  is  with  this  conviction  that 
we  implore  God  to  pour  out  His  benedictions  upon 
the  Emperor,  his  august  companion,  the  Prince 
Imperial,  and  all  France." 

The  Pope's  allocution  deeply  impressed  the  Em- 
press. Prizing  as  she  did  above  all  things  the 
maintenance  of  peace  between  the  throne  and  the 
altar,  it  seemed  to  her  that  the  year  was  beginning 
badly  since  it  indicated  a  serious  disagreement  be- 
tween the  Vatican  and  the  Tuileries.  The  Holy 
Father,  the  godfather  of  the  Prince  Imperial,  de- 
scribed as  "  a  signal  monument  of  hypocrisy "  a 
publication  perfectly  well  known  to  have  been  in- 
spired by  the  Emperor,  and  made  it  plainly  evident 
that  his  good  relations  with  the  Empire  depended 
upon  the  disavowal  of  that  publication.  In  spite  of 
her  devotion  to  the  Holy  See,  the  Empress  could  not 


NEW  YEAR'S  DAY 


hope  to  obtain  such  a  disavowal,  and  she   dreaded 
the  difficulties  of  the  situation. 

The  Empress  desired  to  continue  the  occupation 
of  Rome  by  the  French  troops  as  much  as  the  Em- 
peror desired  to  put  an  end  to  it.  Nothing  pleased 
her  more  than  the  protection  accorded  the  Sovereign 
Pontiff  by  the  Emperor,  the  eldest  son  of  the  Church, 
guarding  the  patrimony  of  St.  Peter  like  a  modern 
Charlemagne.  To  defend  the  temporal  power  of  the 
Pope  she  now  began  that  feverish  struggle  which 
she  kept  up  through  her  husband's  reign.  She  acted 
on  profound  conviction,  for  she  believed  that  the 
interests  of  the  Church  were  closely  linked  to  those 
of  the  Empire.  She  understood  very  well  that  the 
French  occupation  of  Rome  should  offend  England, 
a  Protestant  power,  naturally  jealous  of  the  time- 
honored  glories  of  France ;  but  what  she  could 
not  comprehend  was  why  the  imperial  government, 
which  found  such  efficient  support  in  the  clergy, 
should  be  willing  to  alienate  them  by  renouncing  a 
mission  which  placed  the  French  nation  at  the  head 
of  the  Latin  races,  and  gave  to  the  government  it- 
self extraordinary  prestige  and  influence  with  its 
Catholic  clientele  throughout  the  world.  The  cause 
of  the  Holy  Father  had  a  passionate  and  often 
eloquent  advocate  in  the  Empress. 

From  this  period  two  opposing  camps  were  formed 
in  the  councils  of  the  Emperor  —  a  sort  of  right  and 
left.  Prince  Napoleon  headed  the  left,  the  Empress 
the  right.     The  sovereign,  who  in  both  his  external 


6  NAPOLEON  III 


and  internal  policy  preferred  to  divide  in  order  of 
reign,  sought  to  hold  an  even  balance  between  two 
parties  of  which  he  was  the  arbiter.  We  shall  see 
him,  throughout  the  year  whose  story  we  are  about 
to  tell,  keeping  up  and  laying  stress  upon  their 
antagonism.  When  that  year  began,  the  French 
diplomats,  almost  without  exception,  belonged  to 
the  party  of  the  right,  and  their  chief,  the  Comte 
Walewski,  had  always  opposed  the  programme  of 
Cavour  as  far  as  lay  in  his  power.  Hence  the  Em- 
press regretted  his  resignation  and  the  transference 
of  the  portfolio  of  Foreign  Affairs  to  a  man  less 
unfriendly  to  the  pretensions  of  Sardinia. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  RESIGNATION   OF  COMTE  WALEWSKI 

COMTE  WALEWSKI  had  been  at  the  head  of 
French  diplomacy  since  May  8,  1855.  Up  to 
the  close  of  the  Congress  of  Paris,  there  had  been 
complete  agreement  between  the  Emperor  and  him- 
self;  after  that  epoch  it  no  longer  existed.  The 
minister  opposed  the  ideas  of  Cavour  as  strongly 
as  Napoleon  III.  favored  them.  The  interview  of 
Plombieres  had  taken  place  without  the  cognizance  of 
Walewski ;  he  was  not  a  partisan  of  the  war  of  Italy, 
and  had  done  all  in  his  power  to  bring  it  to  a  speedy 
close.  Belonging  to  the  old  school  of  diplomacy,  he 
had  taken  in  all  seriousness  the  preliminaries  of  Villa- 
franca,  the  treaty  of  Zurich,  and  the  proposition  of  a 
congress.  But  all  this  had  crumbled  into  dust. 
What  had  been  accomplished  by  all  those  despatches, 
notes,  telegrams,  couriers,  journeys  forth  and  back 
of  diplomatists  ?  Nothing  at  all.  The  revolution- 
ary wind  had  blown  away  all  this  diplomatic  waste 
paper. 

The  ink  with  which  the  plenipotentiaries  signed 
the  treaty  of  Zurich  was  hardly  dry  before  that  pain- 
fully elaborated   document  became  null  and  void. 

7 


8  NAPOLEON  III 


The  contracting  parties  had  not  really  desired  its 
execution.  Victor  Emmanuel  was  no  more  anxious 
to  be  the  confederate  of  Francis  Joseph  than  Francis 
Joseph  that  of  Victor  Emmanuel.  The  honorary 
presidency  offered  to  Pius  IX.  seemed  to  him  an 
ironical  compensation  for  the  loss  of  the  Legations, 
and  so  long  as  these  were  not  restored,  the  Holy 
Father  declared  plainly  that  he  would  enter  into  no 
negotiations  whatever.  The  prospect  of  a  combina- 
tion in  which  the  Emperor  of  Austria  should  occupy 
in  Venetia  a  place  similar  to  that  taken  in  the  grand 
duchy  of  Luxemburg  by  the  king  of  the  Low  Coun- 
tries, had  nothing  attractive  to  Francis  Joseph.  He 
no  sooner  beheld  a  possibility  of  retaining  real  do- 
minion in  Venetia,  than  he  ceased  to  attach  much 
value  to  the  execution  of  a  treaty  by  which  he  would 
have  been  a  loser. 

As  for  Napoleon  III.,  after  long  hesitation  he  had 
determined  to  abandon  to  Sardinia  the  whole  of  cen- 
tral Italy,  including  the  Legations,  and  did  not  now 
desire  a  Congress  in  which  he  would  have  found  it 
difficult  to  justify  annexations  so  contrary  to  the 
treaties.  However,  he  did  not  yet  divulge  his  pur- 
pose, and  the  Comte  Walewski  continued  to  uphold 
established  rights.  But  the  Ministry  of  Foreign 
Affairs  was  now  merely  a  facade,  and  diplomacy  a 
fraud.  The  Due  de  Gramont  at  Rome,  the  Prince 
de  La  Tour  d'Auvergne  at  Turin,  suffered  from  the 
part  they  were  made  to  play.  Official  interpreters  of 
the  policy  of  the  Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs,  which 


THE  RESIGNATION   OF  COMTE   WALEWSKI        9 

had  ceased  to  be  that  of  the  sovereign,  they  were  con- 
stantly placed  in  false  positions.  The  despatches 
they  communicated  were  considered  mere  formalities, 
and  no  one  took  seriously  either  their  advice,  their 
remonstrances,  or  their  promises. 

Up  to  the  end  of  1859,  the  Comte  Walewski  had 
hoped  for  the  reunion  of  the  Congress  and  a  solution 
in  conformity  with  the  clauses  of  the  Zurich  treaty. 
In  the  Fortnightly  Chronicle  of  the  Revue  des  Deux- 
Mondes,  January  1, 1860,  occurred  the  following  pas- 
sage :  "The  mere  word  Congress  had  been  magical 
in  its  quieting  effects.  This  marvellous  specific  of 
peace  was  at  last  about  to  be  convened.  People 
reassured  themselves  by  system.  The  Italian  ques- 
tions ?  They  were  forgotten,  deferred  until  the  con- 
sulting physicians  of  Europe  should  meet  on  the  Quai 
d'Orsay.  If  the  Congress  were  put  off  from  Janu- 
ary 5  to  January  19,  so  much  the  better  ;  it  was 
fifteen  days  clear  gain  for  that  suave  and  too  brief 
far  niente  policy.  Ah  well  !  we  should  not  our- 
selves have  the  heart  to  blame  those  who,  knowing 
how  to  rate  this  truce,  have  wished  to  enjoy  it  at 
their  leisure.  It  has  not  lasted  as  long  as  they 
seemed  to  mean  it  should." 

The  diplomatic  scaffolding  had,  in  fact,  just  been 
upset  like  a  house  of  cards.  All  that  had  been  re- 
quired for  this  was  an  anonymous  pamphlet,  —  The 
Pope  and  the  Congress.  Inspired  by  the  Emperor, 
without  the  knowledge  of  his  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  it  appeared  December  23,  and  people  under- 


10  NAPOLEON  III 


stood  that  in  publishing  it,  Napoleon  III.  intended  to 
render  the  Congress  impossible.  Possibly  the  Comte 
Walewski  may  have  hoped  that  as  this  publication 
had  not  an  official  character,  the  game  was  not  abso- 
lutely lost.  But  the  letter  addressed  to  the  Pope  by 
the  Emperor  on  the  last  day  of  the  year,  dispelled  the 
last  illusions  of  his  minister. 

The  conclusion  of  that  letter  was  as  follows  :  "  I 
say  with  sincere  regret,  that  however  painful  the 
solution  may  be,  what  seems  to  me  most  in  conform- 
ity with  the  interests  of  the  Holy  See  would  be  the 
sacrifice  of  the  revolted  provinces.  If  for  the  repose 
of  Europe  the  Holy  Father  should  relinquish  these 
provinces  which  for  the  last  fifty  years  have  created 
such  embarrassment  for  his  government,  and  if  in 
exchange  he  should  ask  the  powers  to  guarantee  him 
the  possession  of  the  rest,  I  have  no  doubt  that  order 
would  be  restored.  Then  the  Holy  Father  would 
thus  assure  peace  for  many  years  to  grateful  Italy, 
and  to  the  Holy  See  the  tranquil  possession  of  the 
States  of  the  Church.  I  love  to  believe  that  your 
Holiness  will  not  misunderstand  the  sentiments  by 
which  I  am  animated ;  that  he  will  comprehend  the 
difficulties  of  my  situation  ;  that  he  will  put  a 
kindly  interpretation  on  the  frankness  of  my  lan- 
guage, remembering  all  I  have  done  for  the  Catholic 
religion  and  its  august  head." 

Bound  by  a  solemn  oath,  the  Pope  considered  it  a 
conscientious  duty  not  to  cede  any  portion  of  the 
States  of  the  Church.     No  human  force  could  induce 


THE  RESIGNATION  OF  COUNT  WALEWSKI     11 

him  to  do  it.  He  repelled  energetically  the  idea  of 
having  himself  represented  in  a  diplomatic  assembly 
whose  programme  would  have  been  his  dispossession. 
Hence  the  Congress  was  abandoned,  and  the  Comte 
Walewski,  a  partisan  of  Tuscan  autonomy  and  the 
papal  claims,  resigned  his  portfolio. 

The  Moniteur  of  January  5,  1860,  published  the 
following  decree :  "  M.  Thouvenel,  ambassador  at 
Constantinople,  is  appointed  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs  to  succeed  the  Comte  Walewski,  whose  res- 
ignation has  been  accepted."  The  retirement  of  the 
minister  was  not  a  disgrace,  however,  for  on  the  very 
day  his  resignation  was  accepted  a  special  decree 
awarded  to  those  members  of  the  Privy  Council  who 
occupied  no  paid  position  a  salary  of  one  hundred 
thousand  francs.  The  Comte  Walewski  was  the 
only  member  of  that  Council  in  the  specified  posi- 
tion, and  in  thus  creating  a  new  expense  without  the 
concurrence  of  legislative  authority,  the  Emperor 
testified  his  gratitude  for  the  services  of  his  former 
minister.  The  Comte  Walewski's  retirement  pro- 
duced very  little  sensation,  the  public  at  that  time 
knowing  very  little  about  what  took  place  behind 
the  diplomatic  scenes.  The  Emperor  occupied  the 
whole  stage,  and  nobody  concerned  himself  much 
about  his  ministers.  Moreover,  it  was  known  that 
M.  Thouvenel,  a  professional  diplomatist,  was  a  man 
of  great  merit,  and  people  liked  to  believe  that  he 
would  be  equal  to  his  task.  The  journals  scarcely 
mentioned  the  change  which  had  taken  place  on  the 


12  NAPOLEON  III 


Quai  d'Orsay.  To  understand  its  significance  one 
must  recur  to  an  article  in  an  English  paper,  the 
Morning  Post,  reproduced  by  the  Moniteur  of  Janu- 
ary 8  :  "It  had  been  evident  for  some  time  that  the 
policy  of  the  Comte  Walewski  was  inclining  toward 
what  it  has  been  agreed  to  call  the  reactionary  party. 
If  he  is  not  himself,  absolutely  speaking,  a  legitimist, 
in  the  ordinary  sense  of  that  word,  he  has  shown 
himself  favorably  inclined  to  the  claims  of  the  dis- 
possessed Italian  princes.  We  understand  perfectly 
that  with  such  lofty  sentiments  as  distinguish  him, 
he  is  unwilling  to  make  himself  the  instrument  of  a 
policy  he  does  not  approve."  The  article  went  on  to 
eulogize  M.  Thouvenel,  and  concluded  thus:  "There 
will  JDe  no  more  of  those  hesitations  which  have 
characterized  the  interval  between  the  interview  of 
Villafranca  and  the  present  moment.  The  head 
which  directs  the  policy  of  France  will  be  in  ac- 
cord with  the  hand  which  will  carry  it  out.  In 
any  case,  there  will  be  no  intervention,  and  no 
opposition  to  Italy's  taking  the  rank  which  be- 
longs to  her  among  the  nations  of  Europe,  and 
which  will  satisfy  at  the  same  time  the  wishes 
of  the  Emperor  Napoleon  and  the  desires  of  the 
English  nation." 

Thus  it  was  by  an  English  journal  that  the  public 
was  apprised  of  the  diplomatic  situation  of  France. 
To  give  no  explanation  of  so  serious  and  delicate 
a  question  as  the  resignation  of  the  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs  except  by  means  of  an  article  from 


THE  RESIGNATION  OF  COUNT  WALEW8KI     13 

the  Morning  Post,  was  by  itself  a  peculiarity  worthy 
of  notice.  The  phrase  about  Italy  might  be  con- 
sidered an  omen  of  all  the  concessions  to  be  made 
in  the  peninsula  by  Napoleon  III.  to  the  policy  of 
Italian  unity. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  LETTER   TO  THE   MINISTER   OF   STATE 

"^TAPOLEON  III.  loved  dramatic  strokes.  It 
~  pleased  him  to  surprise  his  ministers  and  take 
unexpected  resolutions  on  his  own  initiative.  He 
occupied  the  public  mind  with  dissolving  views, 
and  was  fond  of  bringing  warlike  ideas  and  peaceful 
ones  successively  on  the  scene.  At  the  moment 
when  the  Congress  was  abandoned  and  a  renewal  of 
war  was  to  be  feared,  he  chose  to  reassure  people  by 
ignoring  everything  but  the  victories  of  commerce, 
industry,  and  agriculture.  He  was  getting  ready  to 
insist  upon  the  annexation  of  Nice  and  Savoy,  and 
knew  that  he  would  rouse  the  suspicions  and  jeal- 
ousies of  Europe,  and  be  represented  as  an  ambitious 
sovereign  eager  for  conquests.  Hence  he  devoted 
himself  to  seeming  absolutely  peaceful.  On  the 
other  hand,  he  was  not  unaware  that  the  commercial 
treaty  he  was  mysteriously  preparing  with  England 
would  call  down  upon  him  the  keenest  and  most  pas- 
sionate criticism  from  French  protectionists.  Hence 
he  determined  to  prepare  the  public  mind  for  this 
treaty  by  himself  developing  ideas  akin  to  those  of 
free  trade  in  a  document  intended  for  publication. 

14 


THE  LETTER   TO   THE  MINISTER   OF  STATE     15 

Such  was  the  origin  of  the  letter  he  addressed 
January  5  to  M.  Fould,  Minister  of  State,  and  which 
the  Moniteur  published  on  the  15th. 

As  clear  and  comprehensible  to  the  peasants  as  to 
the  working  classes,  the  letter  of  January  5  bore  the 
impress  of  the  Emperor's  character  and  style.  It 
revealed  the  philanthropic  sovereign,  the  progressive 
man  determined  to  prefer  the  moral  and  material 
betterment  of  the  greatest  number  to  all  other 
political  preoccupations.  It  reminded  one  of  the 
humanitarian  writings  he  had  produced  in  the  for- 
tress of  Ham  to  serve  as  the  programme  of  a  reign  in 
which  he  was  the  only  one  to  believe.  Written  the 
very  day  after  the  resignation  of  the  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs,  it  distracted  public  attention  from 
the  increasingly  serious  complications  to  which  the 
Italian  questions  gave  rise.  It  was  a  clever  and 
timely  diversion.     The  letter  opened  thus:  — 

"  M.  le  Ministre :  In  spite  of  the  uncertainty  still 
hanging  over  various  matters  of  foreign  policy,  a 
peaceful  solution  may  be  confidently  expected.  The 
time  has  therefore  arrived  in  which  we  may  consider 
the  means  by  which  a  great  impulse  may  be  given  to 
the  different  branches  of  our  national  wealth.  With 
this  end  in  view,  I  send  you  the  bases  of  a  programme 
several  parts  of  which  ought  to  receive  the  approba- 
tion of  the  Chambers,  and  upon  which  you  will  con- 
cert with  your  colleagues  in  order  to  prepare  the 
measures  best  calculated  to  give  a  strong  impulsion 
to  agriculture,  industry,  and  commerce." 


16  NAPOLEON  III 


The  Emperor  then  entered  into  the  doctrine  of 
free  trade.  "  For  a  long  time,"  said  he,  "  men  have 
been  proclaiming  the  truth  that  in  order  to  render 
commerce  flourishing  it  is  necessary  to  multiply  the 
means  of  exchange  ;  that  when  there  is  no  compe- 
tition, industry  remains  stationary  and  keeps  up 
the  high  prices  which  are  a  bar  to  the  increase  of 
consumption  ;  that  agriculture  itself  must  remain  in 
infancy  without  a  prosperous  trade  which  develops 
capital.  Hence  everything  is  linked  together  in  the 
successive  development  of  the  elements  of  public 
prosperity." 

The  sovereign-reformer  added  :  "  We  must  im- 
prove our  agriculture  and  enfranchise  our  trade  from 
all  those  internal  shackles  which  place  it  in  a  condi- 
tion of  inferiority.  At  present,  it  is  not  merely  our 
great  works  which  are  hampered  by  a  host  of  restric- 
tive regulations,  but  the  well-being  of  those  who 
labor  is  far  from  reaching  the  development  it  has 
attained  in  a  neighboring  country.  Hence  there  is 
nothing  but  a  general  system  of  good  political 
economy  which  can  make  the  working  classes  com- 
fortable by  creating  national  wealth." 

To  make  agriculture  share  the  benefits  of  insti- 
tutions of  credit;  to  clear  the  plains  of  trees  and 
reforest  the  mountains  ;  to  appropriate  a  yearly  sum 
to  the  great  works  of  draining,  irrigation,  and  clear- 
ing ;  to  remove  all  taxes  on  the  raw  materials  neces- 
sary to  industry  ;  to  lend  it,  at  a  moderate  rate,  the 
capital  intended  to  perfect  its  material ;  to  create  as 


THE  LETTER   TO   THE  MINISTER   OF  STATE     17 

quickly  as  possible  ways  of  communication,  canals, 
roads,  and  railways  ;  to  lower  the  imposts  on  com- 
modities in  great  demand :  such  were  the  great 
features  of  the  Emperor's  programme.  "  By  these 
measures,"  said  he,  "  agriculture  will  find  a  market 
for  its  products  ;  industry,  freed  from  internal  fetters, 
aided  by  government,  stimulated  by  foreign  competi- 
tion, will  contend  advantageously  with  foreign  prod- 
ucts, and  our  commerce,  instead  of  languishing,  will 
take  a  new  departure." 

How  can  these  improvements  be  arrived  at  without 
disturbing  financial  equilibrium  ?  The  conclusion  of 
peace  has  prevented  the  sum  total  of  the  loan  con- 
tracted for  the  war  of  1859  from  being  exhausted. 
A  considerable  sum  remains  to  be  disposed  of,  and 
this,  united  to  other  resources,  amounts  to  about 
a  hundred  millions.  By  asking  the  Corps  Le'gis- 
latif  to  authorize  the  use  of  this  sum  in  great 
public  works,  and  dividing  it  into  three  annui- 
ties, there  would  be  about  fifty  millions  a  year  to 
add  to  the  considerable  sums  already  voted  in  the 
budget. 

The  Emperor  thinks  of  moral  as  well  as  of  material 
interests.  With  the  extraordinary  resources  not 
otherwise  engaged,  he  wishes  to  build  railways, 
canals,  roads,  and  harbors  without  delay  ;  but  he 
also  wishes  to  restore  churches  and  cathedrals,  and 
worthily  to  encourage  science,  letters,  and  the 
arts. 

At  the  end  of  his  letter,  Napoleon  III.  thus  sum- 


18  NAPOLEON  III 


marized  his  ideas  :  Suppression  of  the  duties  on  wool 
and  cottons  ;  successive  reduction  of  those  on  sugars 
and  coffees  ;  energetic  and  continued  improvement 
of  the  means  of  communication  ;  reduction  of  the 
tolls  on  canals  and  consequently  on  the  cost  of 
transportation  ;  loans  to  agriculture  and  manufac- 
tures ;  considerable  works  of  public  utility  ;  suppres- 
sion of  prohibitions  ;  commercial  treaties  with  foreign 
powers. 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  the  imperial  letter  had  a 
grand  look.  It  broke  with  routine  and  opened  en- 
tirely new  paths  to  national  prosperity.  The  semi- 
official press  received  it  with  great  enthusiasm,  but 
malcontents  were  numerous.  The  Emperor  had  just 
given  a  hard  blow  to  the  privileges  of  the  great  manu- 
facturers. In  announcing  the  negotiation  of  com- 
mercial treaties,  he  had  indicated  his  willingness  to 
welcome  foreign  products  to  French  markets  on  con- 
dition of  a  just  reciprocity,  and  to  substitute  a  rather 
liberal  tariff  for  prohibition,  in  order  to  facilitate 
international  exchanges.  Ready  to  profit  by  all 
measures  which  might  diminish  their  cost  prices  and 
increase  their  profits,  the  partisans  of  the  prohibitive 
regime  were  not  at  all  disposed  to  accept  foreign 
competition.  They  would  have  liked  to  cut  the 
imperial  programme  in  two,  and  suppress  the  latter 
part,  that  which  foreshadowed  the  speedy  conclusion 
of  commercial  treaties  with  foreign  powers. 

As  to  the  embellishment  of  Paris,  the  economic 
reforms  were  to  meet  still  more  energetic  opposition. 


THE  LETTER   TO   THE  MINISTER   OF  STATE     19 

If  the  Emperor  had  consulted  the  Chambers  before- 
hand, he  would  have  received  no  concurrence.  His 
individual  initiative  was  all  that  could  succeed,  and 
but  for  his  indomitable  will,  routine  would  always 
and  everywhere  have  hindered  progress. 


CHAPTER  IV 

GENERAL  DE   MOSTTAUBAN 

A  T  the  very  moment  when  he  was  extolling  peace- 
ful  ideas  for  Europe,  Napoleon  III.  had  decided 
for  the  Farthest  East  upon  one  of  the  most  venture- 
some campaigns  that  was  ever  made.  With  his 
customary  audacity  and  his  passion  for  risky  under- 
takings, he  had  organized  a  distant  and  marvellous 
expedition,  better  adapted  than  any  other  to  impress 
men's  imaginations.  He  had  done  so  on  joint  and 
equal  terms  with  England,  as  had  been  the  case  in  the 
Crimea,  and  he  hoped  that  this  new  brotherhood  in 
arms  would  silence  the  hereditary  jealousies  of  the 
English  in  regard  to  France.  He  thought  the  treaty 
of  commerce  and  the  Chinese  expedition  would 
diminish  the  irritations  and  suspicions  sure  to  be 
awakened  in  London  by  the  annexation  of  Nice  and 
Savoy. 

On  the  other  hand,  at  a  time  when  serious  diffi- 
culties were  arising  between  him  and  the  Holy  See, 
the  Emperor  liked  to  give  a  striking  pledge  of  his 
solicitude  for  the  cause  of  Christianity,  and  enjoyed 
defending  the  cross  in  China  with  the  sword  of 
France.      The   more   dangerous  an   enterprise,   the 

20 


GENERAL  BE  MONTAUBAN  21 

more  it  charmed  him.  The  more  distant  a  country, 
the  more  it  pleased  him  to  deploy  his  eagles 
there. 

The  causes  of  conflict  with  China  dated  back  for 
several  years.  At  the  beginning  of  1855,  a  French 
missionary,  M.  Chapdelaine,  had  been  tortured  and 
put  to  death.  In  1856,  in  the  waters  of  Canton,  a 
small  vessel  carrying  the  British  flag  had  been  cap- 
tured by  the  Chinese  authorities.  France  had  been 
unwilling  to  leave  England  to  avenge  herself  alone. 
In  1857,  the  fleets  of  the  two  nations  bombarded 
Canton.  In  1858,  they  forced  the  defences  of  the 
Pei-Ho,  and  sailed  up  the  stream  to  Tien-Tsin,  a 
city  about  thirty-five  leagues  from  Pekin.  The 
frightened  Chinese  concluded  to  come  to  terms. 
June  27,  1858,  a  treaty  was  signed  which  opened 
new  ports  to  Europeans,  proclaimed  the  free  exer- 
cise of  the  Christian  religion,  stipulated  for  a  war 
indemnity  for  the  allies,  and  provided  that  the  rati- 
fications should  be  exchanged  at  Pekin.  The  fol- 
lowing year,  the  ministers  of  France  and  England, 
MM.  de  Bourbulon  and  Bruce,  left  Shanghai  with 
the  intention  of  going  to  Pekin  to  exchange  the 
ratifications  of  the  treaty,  as  had  been  agreed  upon. 
On  reaching  the  mouth  of  the  Pei-Ho,  they  found 
it  blocked.  The  Chinese  forts  on  either  bank  cov- 
ered the  gunboats  of  the  two  powers  with  their 
cross  fires.  Four  hundred  and  thirty  English  and 
fifteen  Frenchmen  were  disabled,  and  the  two  diplo- 
mats were  obliged  to  return  to  Shanghai.     This  hap- 


22  NAPOLEON  III 


pened  June  25,  1859,  the  very  day  after  the  battle  of 
Solferino.     The  outrage  could  not  go  unpunished. 

The  cabinets  of  Paris  and  London  concerted  to- 
gether the  measures  to  be  taken  in  order  to  wreak 
a  signal  vengeance  on  Chinese  disloyalty,  but  did 
not  come  at  once  to  an  agreement  concerning  either 
the  importance  or  the  object  of  the  new  expedition. 
Napoleon  III.  desired  the  military  operations  to  be 
pushed  as  far  as  possible,  so  as  to  leave  a  lasting 
impression  on  the  Chinese  mind.  The  Queen's 
government  hesitated.  The  difficulties  it  would 
experience  in  sending  an  army  corps  so  far,  and 
the  fear  of  having  again  to  admit  the  superiority 
of  French  arms,  as  in  the  Crimea,  deterred  it  from 
any  decisive  step.  But  the  Emperor  insisted,  and 
after  active  negotiations,  which  occupied  the  months 
of  September  and  October,  his  opinion  finally  pre- 
vailed. A  naval  demonstration  was  recognized  as 
insufficient,  and  the  Chinese  war  decided  on.  France 
promised  a  contingent  of  twelve  thousand  men, 
and  England  one  of  eighteen  thousand,  a  portion 
of  which  was  to  be  demanded  from  the  army  of 
India. 

The  first  idea  of  Napoleon  III.  was  to  confer  the 
command  of  the  French  forces  on  General  Trochu, 
who,  at  Solferino,  had  shown  himself  both  clear- 
sighted and  cool  at  the  critical  moment  when  he  led 
one  of  the  brigades  of  his  division  to  the  assistance 
of  the  4th  corps.  The  Emperor  had  a  somewhat 
unreasoning  sympathy  for  the  man  who  was  to  be 


GENERAL  BE  MONTAUBAN  23 

so  fatal  to  his  dynasty.  Talking  one  day  very  con- 
fidentially with  General  Fleury,  he  summarized  the 
merits  and  defects  of  the  generals  of  the  army  of 
Italy,  and  coming  to  Trochu,  said,  "  He  is  the 
strongest  of  them  all."  He  offered  him  the  chief 
command  of  the  army  of  China,  so  as  to  furnish  an 
occasion  for  giving  him  the  marshal's  baton.  But 
General  Trochu  having  declined  the  flattering  offer, 
General  Fleury  suggested  General  de  Montauban  to 
the  Emperor. 

Born  in  1796,  this  general  retained  at  sixty-three 
all  the  vigor  and  activity  of  youth.  He  was  a  man 
of  courage  and  intelligence,  whose  happy  blending 
of  firmness  and  kindliness  gave  him  a  great  ascen- 
dency over  his  troops ;  moreover,  he  was  a  brilliant 
soldier,  a  skilful  organizer,  and  had  the  qualities  of  a 
diplomatist.  General  Fleury  says  of  him  in  his  Souve- 
nirs :  "  He  was  chief  of  the  squadron  of  spahis  of 
Oran  when  I,  being  then  a  mere  volunteer,  was  sent 
to  him  by  my  friend,  the  Marquis  du  Hallay.  He 
received  me  like  a  father,  and  spared  me  the  annoy- 
ances of  the  first  beginnings  up  to  the  day  when 
Yusuf,  coming  to  assume  command  of  the  regiment, 
took  me  for  his  secretary.  A  man  never  forgets  the 
kindness  which  a  commander  has  shown  him  during 
the  hard  trials  of  military  apprenticeship." 

The  father  of  a  large  family,  and  without  a  for- 
tune, the  brave  African  officer  had  money  difficulties 
which  his  rivals  took  advantage  of  to  ruin  his  career. 
Arriving  at  the  rank  of  colonel,  the  stars  had  been 


24  NAPOLEON  III 


several  times  refused  him  before  the  Revolution  of 
1848.  But  Fleury  becoming  powerful  at  the  Elysee, 
and  subsequently  at  the  Tuileries,  Montauban  was 
made  general  of  brigade  in  1851,  and  general  of 
division  in  1855.  After  having  commanded  the 
province  of  Oran,  he  was  at  the  head  of  the  military 
division  of  Limoges  when,  to  his  great  surprise,  he 
was  notified  of  his  appointment  as  commander-in- 
chief  of  the  army  of  China.  Without  the  slightest 
hesitation,  he  accepted  the  perilous  task  before  which 
many  a  younger  man  would  have  quailed. 

At  that  time  the  French  believed  themselves 
invincible.  Nothing  could  daunt  the  irresistible 
dash  of  their  heroism.  November  7,  1859,  a  circular 
from  the  Minister  of  War,  addressed  to  the  com- 
manders of  corps  for  the  recruitment  of  the  expedi- 
tion, was  answered  by  offers  so  numerous  that  the 
choice  could  be  made  from  among  the  best  officers 
and  soldiers  of  the  army.  Thus  was  composed  an 
admirable  corps  of  eight  thousand  men,  comprising 
two  regiments  of  infantry  of  the  line,  a  regiment  of 
marine  infantry,  and  a  battalion  of  foot  chasseurs. 
It  is  this  little  phalanx  which  is  going  to  do  won- 
ders. General  de  Montauban  addresses  it  in  the 
following  proclamation  :  "  Your  task  is  a  great  and 
glorious  one  to  accomplish  ;  but  success  is  assured 
by  your  devotion  to  the  Emperor  and  to  France. 
Returning  to  your  own  land  some  day,  you  will  tell 
your  fellow-citizens  proudly  that  you  carried  the 
national  flag  to  countries  which  imperial  Rome,  in 


GENERAL  BE  MONTAUBAN  25 

the  time  of  her  greatness,  never  dreamed  of  pene- 
trating by  her  legions*" 

The  expeditionary  French  corps  embarked  at 
Toulon  in  December,  1859,  and  sailed  for  China  by 
the  long  route  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Anxious 
to  precede  his  troops  and  make  his  own  arrange- 
ments on  Chinese  soil,  General  de  Montauban  with 
his  staff  took  the  more  rapid  route  by  way  of  Egypt. 
January  12,  1860,  he  embarked  at  Marseilles  on  the 
Panthere,  a  packet  boat  of  the  Peninsular  and  Oriental 
Company.  He  had  the  official  title  of  commander 
of  the  French  forces  by  land  and  sea  of  the  Chinese 
expedition.  He  was  besides  invested  with  all  diplo- 
matic powers.  His  instructions  left  him  at  liberty 
to  direct  the  expedition  as  he  thought  best  for  the 
interests  of  France,  but  obliged  him  to  advise  with 
the  representative  of  Queen  Victoria  and  the  com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  British  forces.  Later  on, 
notwithstanding  the  engagements  made  with  him, 
some  of  his  powers  were  taken  away  and  given  to  an 
ambassador  and  an  admiral.  But  General  de  Mon- 
tauban accepted  without  a  murmur  a  decision  con- 
trary to  the  unity  of  action  which  would  have  been 
so  desirable,  and  in  spite  of  unusual  obstacles, 
conducted  successfully  an  enterprise  which  surpasses 
the  fabulous  exploits  of  Cortez  and  Pizarro. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE   COMMERCIAL  TREATY   WITH    ENGLAND 

T ANUARY  23,  1860,  eleven  days  after  General  de 
^  Montauban  embarked  at  Marseilles  for  China, 
the  treaty  of  commerce  between  France  and  Eng- 
land was  signed  at  Paris  by  M.  Baroche,  President  of 
the  Council  of  State,  in  charge  of  the  Ministry  of 
Foreign  Affairs  pending  the  arrival  of  M.  Thouve- 
nel,  and  M.  Rouher,  Minister  of  Agriculture,  Com- 
merce, and  Public  Works,  on  the  part  of  France  ;  on 
that  of  England  by  Lord  Cowley,  ambassador  to 
her  British  Majesty  at  the  court  of  the  Emperor 
of  the  French,  and  Mr.  Richard  Cobden,  member 
of  the  House  of  Commons. 

No  negotiations  had  ever  been  carried  on  more 
mysteriously.  The  enterprise  against  the  protec- 
tionists was  a  real  conspiracy,  an  economic  coup 
d'etat.  Napoleon  III.  made  a  rude  break  with  the 
traditions  of  French  commercial  policy. 

The  protective  system  had  been  systematized  by 
Colbert.  The  plan  of  Napoleon  I.  was  not  merely 
to  close  French  ports,  but  those  of  the  entire  world, 
to  English  commerce.  Under  the  Restoration,  the 
most   rigorous   prohibition  had  been  strictly  main- 

26 


THE  COMMERCIAL   TREATY   WITH  ENGLAND     27 

tained.  Under  the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe  many 
great  manufacturers  and  producers  had  seats  either 
in  the  Chamber  of  Peers  or  that  of  Deputies,  and 
they  would  never  have  permitted  any  encroachment 
upon  their  privileges. 

The  same  doctrines  and  many  of  the  same  men 
were  now  to  be  found  in  the  Corps  Legislatif,  and  at 
first  the  Emperor  feared  to  wound  the  interests  or 
provoke  the  opposition  of  influential  personages 
whose  cooperation  had  not  been  lacking  to  the 
reestablishment  of  imperial  institutions.  While 
meditating  in  captivity  at  Ham,  the  future  sovereign 
declared  himself  in  favor  of  free  trade.  But  on 
coming  to  power  he  had  been  forced  to  recoil  before 
the  stubborn  resistance  opposed  to  his  projects  of 
reform  and  his  cosmopolitan  ideas.  A  first  attempt, 
made  in  1856,  had  been  fruitless.  During  the  ses- 
sion of  the  Congress  of  Paris,  the  Emperor  had  said 
to  Lord  Clarendon,  one  of  the  plenipotentiaries  :  "  I 
know  that  you  are  an  ardent  free  trader.  Well  1 
I  am  happy  to  say  that  my  Council  of  State  is  com- 
pleting the  details  of  a  scheme  which  will  correspond 
to  your  tendencies."  A  bill  had,  in  fact,  been  sent 
to  the  Corps  Legislatif,  July  9,  1856,  whose  object 
was  to  cancel  all  prohibitions.  But  the  sovereign- 
reformer  had  counted  too  securely  on  the  docility  of 
the  Chamber.  The  bill  was  received  so  badly  that 
it  was  withdrawn,  with  the  promise  inserted  in  the 
Moniteur  that  it  would  not  be  presented  again 
before  1861.     Napoleon  III.  was  the  embodiment  of 


28  NAPOLEON  III 


perseverance  and  patience.  He  never  clung  more 
tenaciously  to  his  ideas  than  at  the  moment  when  he 
seemed  to  have  renounced  them. 

The  chief  exponent  in  France  of  the  doctrine 
of  free  trade  was  M.  Michel  Chevalier,  a  former 
disciple  of  Saint-Simon,  professor  of  political  econ- 
omy at  the  College  of  France  in  1840,  but  now  an 
imperialist,  a  regular  contributor  to  the  Journal  des 
Debats,  president  of  the  Council  General  of  Herault, 
— a  vine-growing  department,  —  and  a  free  trader. 
In  England,  Richard  Cobden  occupied  a  like  prom- 
inence. These  men  met  in  1859  at  Bradford, 
where  the  economists  of  the  Manchester  school 
were  holding  a  congress.  Mr.  Cobden  afterward 
came  to  Paris,  where  he  had  some  important  inter- 
views with  the  Emperor,  and  told  him  about  the 
statue  erected  to  Robert  Peel,  with  the  inscription, 
"  He  improved  the  condition  of  the  laboring  and 
suffering  classes  by  lowering  the  prices  of  provisions 
of  prime  necessity."  To  recall  such  a  memory  was 
to  touch  a  sensitive  chord  in  Napoleon  III.  "  Of  all 
rewards,"  cried  the  humanitarian  monarch,  "  that  is 
the  one  I  would  covet  most." 

To  break  the  trammels  of  routine,  attack  monopo- 
lies, appear  as  the  defender  of  the  workmen,  the 
peasants,  the  indigent  classes;  to  subordinate  the 
interests  of  the  chiefs  of  financial,  commercial,  and 
industrial  feudalism  to  those  of  the  greater  number ; 
was  a  plan  conformable  to  the  democratic  sentiments 
of  a  sovereign  more  loyal  to  the  people  than  many 


THE  COMMERCIAL    TREATY   WITH  ENGLAND      29 


of  the  republicans,  and  above  all  things  a  philan- 
thropist. Mr.  Cobden  had  no  difficulty  in  convinc- 
ing him.  The  cause  pleaded  by  the  free  trader  was 
gained  in  advance.  The  Emperor  took  an  inflexible 
resolution  to  make  it  succeed  without  delay,  in  spite 
of  all  opposition  and  of  every  obstacle.  England 
being  the  foremost  of  the  industrial  powers,  a  treaty 
with  her  would  be  the  type  of  future  ones  to  be 
concluded  with  other  states,  and  free  trade  would 
triumph. 

Napoleon  III.  was  convinced  that  no  vast  reform 
could  be  accomplished  by  assemblies,  and  that  every- 
thing great  which  had  been  done  during  his  reign 
had  been  the  result  of  his  initiative  and  personal 
will.  While  the  protectionists,  resting  securely  on 
the  promises  made  them  in  1856,  were  persuaded 
that  no  change  would  be  made  without  consulting 
them,  the  Emperor  bore  in  mind  that  the  Constitu- 
tion recognized  in  him  the  right  to  conclude 
commercial  treaties  without  concerning  himself  be- 
forehand about  the  assent  of  the  Chambers.  A 
senatorial  decree  dated  December  25,  1852,  accorded 
him  this  prerogative.  He  thought  the  time  had 
come  to  make  use  of  it.  He  conspired  at  the 
Tuileries  for  commercial  liberty  with  Mr.  Cobden, 
as  he  had  conspired  at  Plombieres  with  Cavour 
for  Italian  independence.  Throughout  his  career 
one  finds  the  same  system  of  mysterious  prepara- 
tions leading  up  to  daring  strokes.  The  expeditions 
of   Strasburg  and   Boulogne,  the  2d  of   December, 


30  NAPOLEON  III 


the  war  of  Italy,  the  commercial  treaty  with  Eng- 
land, proceed  from  the  same  tactics.  The  motto  of 
Napoleon  III.  seemed  to  be  :  "  Take  the  whole  world 
by  surprise." 

The  treaty  of  January  23,  1860,  which  settled  for 
ten  years  the  state  of  the  commercial  relations  be- 
tween France  and  England,  was  a  real  revolution 
in  economic  matters.  The  system  adopted  was  that 
of  moderate  tariffs  on  articles  formerly  prohibited, 
as  well  as  on  all  others.  Threads,  textile  fabrics, 
iron,  steel,  machines,  foreign  tools,  were  introduced 
into  France  subject  to  a  tax  which  could  not  in  any 
case  exceed  thirty  per  cent  of  their  value.  These 
tariffs  were  to  be  enforced  at  different  dates,  the 
most  remote  of  which,  that  on  threads  and  fabrics, 
was  to  come  into  action  October  1,  1861.  The  tax 
on  oils,  3  fr.  60  per  tun,  was  to  be  suppressed  after 
a  brief  delay.  The  French  market  for  the  first  time 
opened  wide  its  doors  to  British  products.  In  re- 
turn, France  obtained  a  complete  exemption  from 
duties  on  all  articles  of  fancy  or  fashion,  as  well  as 
on  silks,  and  a  reduction  of  the  duties  on  wines  and 
spirits.  The  treaty  was  definitive  for  France.  For 
England  it  had  to  be  submitted  to  the  ratification 
of  Parliament. 

Signed  January  23,  the  treaty  was  kept  secret  for 
some  days  longer.  The  public  was  not  apprised 
of  it  until  February  10.  In  the  seaport  towns 
and  the  vine-growing  departments  it  was  well  re- 
ceived, but  it  raised  a  tumult  in  the  manufacturing 


THE  COMMERCIAL    TREATY   WITH  ENGLAND      31 

and  industrial  centres.  The  producers  of  oil,  iron, 
threads,  and  textile  stuffs  were  extremely  displeased 
at  the  disappearance  of  a  custom-house  regime  which 
gave  them  good  profits  in  the  present,  and  assured 
them,  as  they  believed,  full  security  for  the  future. 
Their  surprise  and  disappointment  were  as  great  as 
their  dissatisfaction.  They  were  obliged  to  admit 
that  the  Emperor  had  acted  strictly  within  his  rights. 
But  all  the  same,  was  not  this  an  abuse  of  personal 
power,  a  mark  of  distrust,  a  piece  of  bravado  where 
the  Chambers  were  concerned?  Did  the  most  faith- 
ful of  the  Emperor's  adherents  deserve  to  be  the 
victims  of  such  a  proceeding  ?  Why  had  the  nego- 
tiations been  kept  secret  ?  Why  had  not  even  the 
most  competent  men  been  consulted  ?  Why  had 
the  most  difficult  and  most  serious  questions  been 
irrevocably  settled  in  a  single  day,  by  one  stroke  of 
the  pen?  All  sorts  of  complaints  poured  in  from 
Rouen  and  from  Lille,  from  Tourcoing  and  Rou- 
baix.  The  iron-masters  and  the  heads  of  textile 
industries  who  occupied  seats  in  the  Corps  Le*gis- 
latif  made  themselves  especially  noticeable  by  their 
murmurs. 

No  opposition  is  more  bitter  and  impassioned 
than  that  based  on  money  interests.  Notwithstand- 
ing all  his  power,  Napoleon  III.  could  not  terminate 
the  violent  struggle  which  began  between  the  pro- 
tectionists and  the  free-trade  party.  It  was  to 
continue  throughout  his  entire  reign.  It  continues 
still.     Free  trade  may  possibly  end  by  triumphing 


32  NAPOLEON  III 


in  the  world.  But  at  present  it  is  under  a  cloud. 
Neither  camp  has  laid  down  its  arms.  Each  main- 
tains its  position.  The  question  is  not  yet  settled. 
Adhue  sub  judice  lis  est. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  RELIGIOUS   AGITATION 

rpHE  imperial  government  had  to  contend  at  the 
-~  same  time  with  two  oppositions, — one  based  on 
material  and  the  other  on  religious  interests.  Sir 
Charles  Greville  wrote  in  his  Journal,  January  22, 
1860,  "  The  Emperor  must  have  extraordinary 
confidence  in  his  personal  prestige  to  defy  both  the 
clerical  and  the  protectionist  parties  at  the  same 
time ;  it  will  be  interesting  to  see  whether  events 
will  justify  this  audacity." 

But  for  Italy,  the  most  complete  harmony  would 
always  have  existed  between  the  sovereign  and  the 
clergy.  The  only  stumbling-block  was  the  Roman 
question.  Napoleon  III.  recognized  that  if  the 
Church  owed  much  to  him,  he  owed  much  to  the 
Church.  He  had  found  in  her  the  most  loyal  and 
efficient  support  ever  since  his  election  to  the  presi- 
dency of  the  Republic,  and  afterward  to  the  Empire. 
The  parish  priests  had  voted  for  him  at  the  head  of 
their  flocks.  His  good  will  toward  the  clergy  had 
contributed  more  than  anything  else  to  secure  him 
the  cooperation  of  the  conservative  masses.  It  had 
earned  him  the  approbation  of  the  Catholics  of  the 
d  33 


34  NAPOLEON  III 


entire  world.  The  loss  of  such  a  situation  was  by 
no  means  an  insignificant  one.  The  Emperor  was 
perfectly  aware  of  this,  and  it  chagrined  him  to  see 
the  progress  of  the  religious  agitation  which  since 
the  publication  of  the  pamphlet,  The  Pope  and  the 
Congress,  had  been  increasing  daily. 

This  movement  was  from  the  first  directed  by  the 
most  impetuous,  most  irascible,  most  eloquent  of  the 
French  prelates,  Monseigneur  Dupanloup,  Bishop  of 
Orleans  and  member  of  the  French  Academy.  The 
Abbe  Lagrange  has  described  the  state  of  irritation 
into  which  the  opuscule  threw  the  celebrated  bishop. 
He  received  it  on  Christmas  Eve,  just  as  he  was  about 
going  into  his  chapel  to  hear  confessions,  and  he  was 
heard  to  exclaim,  "  This  is  frightful,  but  there  is  a 
way  of  killing  it  on  the  spot."  That  evening  he  said 
to  the  clergymen  around  him,  "Gentlemen,  this 
pamphlet  is  hell,"  and  he  spent  the  whole  night  in 
preparing  an  indignant  refutation.  "  Do  you  sup- 
pose," he  wrote  in  conclusion,  "that  French  blood 
has  ceased  to  flow  in  our  veins,  that  our  hearts  no 
longer  beat  in  our  bosoms?  Beware  of  that;  you 
will  end  by  offending  us:  I  do  not  know  whether 
we  need  to  be  awakened,  but  you  are  succeeding 
wonderfully  in  opening  our  eyes.  .  .  .  This  morn- 
ing, the  holy  day  of  the  birth  of  the  Saviour  of  the 
world  in  a  stable,  I  listened  to  the  fresh,  innocent 
voices  repeating  in  my  cathedral,  Gloria  in  excelsis 
Deo!  and  I  said  to  myself  with  joy,  That  will 
always  be  chanted  upon  earth.     But  at  these  words, 


THE  RELIGIOUS  AGITATION  35 

Et  in  terra  pax  ho  minibus  bonce  voluntatis,  I  said  with 
sorrow,  Men  do  not  have  peace  because  they  are  not 
men  of  good  will.  May  it  please  heaven  to  give 
them  at  last  that  sincere  good  will  and  courage 
which  they  need  in  order  to  accomplish  the  work 
of  God  and  their  own  destiny  !  " 

A  few  days  later,  Monseigneur  Pie,  Bishop  of  Poi- 
tiers, read  from  the  pulpit  of  his  cathedral  a  long  ref- 
utation of  the  brochure.  All  the  episcopal  charges 
condemned  it.  The  Pope  himself  spoke.  His  en- 
cyclical of  January  19  exhorted  the  pastors  and  the 
faithful  of  the  entire  world  to  cooperate  by  every 
effort  of  their  zeal  in  defending  the  rights  of  the 
Holy  See  over  the  Legations.  The  order  from 
Rome  was  respectfully  obeyed  by  all  Catholics.  All 
previous  differences  between  the  defenders  of  the 
Church  were  obliterated.  Ultramontanes  and  Galli- 
cans,  absolutists  and  liberal  Catholics,  the  secular 
clergy  and  the  regulars,  priests  and  people,  vied 
with  each  other  in  their  zeal. 

In  Paris,  the  Correspondant  published  four  articles 
on  the  Roman  Question :  one  by  M.  Cochin,  another 
by  Prince  Albert  de  Broglie,  the  third  by  M.  de 
Courcelle,  former  ambassador  of  France  near  the 
Holy  See,  the  fourth  by  Comte  de  Falloux,  prin- 
cipal author  of  the  law  on  freedom  of  education. 
These  four  articles,  which  treated  the  question 
in  all  its  aspects,  produced  a  real  sensation.  In 
the  persons  of  M.  Cochin  and  Prince  Albert  de 
Broglie,  the  Correspondant  was  given  a  second  official 


36  NAPOLEON  III 


warning.  For  a  periodical  publication,  the  third 
warning  meant  suppression.  These  warnings  went 
on  multiplying,  striking  the  most  important  journals 
as  well  as  the  simplest  of  provincial  sheets.  Three 
members  of  the  Corps  Legislatif,  MM.  de  Cuverville, 
Keller,  and  Anatole  Lemercier,  had  requested  an 
audience  with  the  Emperor  to  plead  the  pontifical 
cause.  The  audience  having  been  refused,  they 
summed  up  their  grievances  in  a  collective  letter 
which  was  published  by  a  journal  of  Saint-Brieuc, 
the  Bretagne.     This  journal  was  suppressed. 

M.  Louis  Veuillot's  ardently  clerical  paper,  the 
Univers,  formerly  enthusiastic  in  its  admiration  of 
the  Emperor  and  his  government,  brusquely  changed 
its  attitude.  The  journal  which  had  so  noisily  ap- 
plauded the  reestablishment  of  the  Empire,  and 
which  in  1858  had  waxed  poetic  in  its  account  of 
the  pious  journey  accomplished  in  Catholic  Brittany 
by  the  Emperor  and  Empress,  took  violently  the  part 
of  Pius  IX.  against  Napoleon  III.,  and  was  sup- 
pressed January  30. 

The  French  Academy,  formerly  Voltairian,  came 
out  energetically  for  the  Vatican.  M.  Villemain, 
who  once  had  a  craze  for  seeing  Jesuits  everywhere, 
now  published  a  brochure  entitled,  France,  the  Um- 
pire and  the  Papacy,  in  which  he  defended  "  in  the 
person  of  the  Pope  violated  public  law."  The  most 
celebrated  of  Protestants,  M.  Guizot,  thoroughly  ap- 
proved the  attitude  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  and  thus 
found  himself  in  perfect  agreement  with  M.  Thiers. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  AGITATION  37 

Even  Pere  Lacordaire,  who  in  1859  had  declared  him- 
self in  favor  of  the  war  of  Italy,  adhered  energetically 
to  Pius  IX.  against  Victor  Emmanuel. 

On  February  2,  the  French  Academy  was  to  have 
an  election  to  replace  M.  de  Tocqueville.  Mon- 
seigneur  Dupanloup  said  to  several  of  his  Academi- 
cians, "  I  have  never  in  my  life  agreed  with  Pere 
Lacordaire  intellectually ;  but  I  do  not  know  a  nobler 
heart,  nor  a  man  better  fitted  to  do  honor  to  the 
Academy."  The  illustrious  Dominican  was  elected 
by  a  vote  thirty-five  to  twenty-one  (M.  Camille 
Doucet  got  three  votes  and  M.  Henri  Martin  one). 
Directly  after  the  election,  in  which  he  had  taken  a 
great  part,  the  chief  of  the  spiritualistic  philosophers, 
M.  Cousin,  met  Monseigneur  Dupanloup  on  the  stair- 
case of  the  Institute,  and  spoke  to  him  concerning 
the  rights  of  the  Pope  with  his  customary  eloquence. 
"  Would  you  be  willing  to  write  down  what  you  have 
just  said,  and  authorize  me  to  publish  it  ?  "  asked  the 
bishop.  "  Very  willing,"  replied  the  philosopher,  and 
the  next  day  the  prelate  received  the  conversation  in 
M.  Cousin's  own  handwriting.  He  inserted  it  in  his 
volume  on  The  Pontifical  Sovereignty,  which  he  was 
then  composing.     Here  it  is  :  — 

"  Materialistic  and  atheistic  philosophy  may  be 
indifferent  to  —  it  ought  even  to  applaud  —  the 
diminution  and  degradation  of  the  Papacy,  for  it 
has  no  need  of  the  Papacy  in  order  to  teach  men 
that  the  soul  results  from  the  body,  and  that  the 
world  is  the  only  God.     But  spiritualistic  philosophy 


38  NAPOLEON  III 


regards  very  differently  what  is  going  on.  If  it  is 
not  blinded  by  the  most  stupid  pride,  it  must  know 
that  outside  of  the  schools,  in  mankind  at  large, 
spiritualism  is  represented  by  Christianity,  that 
Christianity  is  excellently  represented  by  the  Catho- 
lic Church,  and  that  the  Holy  Father  thus  becomes 
the  representative  of  the  whole  moral  and  intel- 
lectual order." 

Lastly,  the  Catholic  liberal  by  excellence,  the  friend 
of  nationalities,  the  new  Academician,  Pere  Lacor- 
daire,  published  the  brochure,  Concerning  the  Liberty 
of  the  Church  and  of  Italy,  in  which  he  said  : 
"  Italians,  your  cause  is  fine,  but  you  do  not  know 
how  to  honor  it,  and  you  serve  it  worse  still. 
What  have  you  done  ?  For  an  empty  system  of 
absolute  unity  which  does  not  in  the  least  concern 
either  your  nationality  or  your  liberty,  you  have 
raised  between  you  and  two  hundred  millions  of 
Catholics  a  barrier  which  increases  daily.  You  have 
arrayed  against  your  legitimate  hopes  something 
more  than  men,  Christianity  itself  ;  that  is  to  say, 
the  greatest  of  the  works  of  God  upon  earth.  Make 
no  mistake  about  it  ;  it  is  God  who  has  made  Rome 
for  His  Church.  Therefore  you  have  arrayed  against 
you  an  eternal  decree  of  God.  Doubtless  you  will 
find  it  out  some  day." 

The  imperial  government  sent  out  circulars,  one 
of  them  addressed  to  the  diplomatic  agents  by  the 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  another  to  the  prefects 
by  the  Minister  of  the  Interior,  and  a  third  to  the 


THE  RELIGIOUS  AGITATION  39 

archbishops  and  bishops  by  the  Minister  of  Worship. 
The  first  of  these,  dated  February  8,  attempted  to 
prove  that  the  existence  and  character  of  the  Holy 
See  were  not  affected  by  a  simple  modification  of 
territory.  The  second  (February  15)  ordered  pre- 
fects to  prevent  the  distribution  of  non-authorized 
pamphlets,  and  to  exercise  special  watchfulness  over 
discourses  from  the  pulpit.  The  third  (February 
17)  laid  stress  on  the  services  which  the  Emperor 
had  rendered  to  religion  as  well  as  to  the  Holy  See, 
and  advised  the  episcopate  to  calm  the  agitation. 
These  circulars  were  powerless  to  arrest  the  move- 
ment. The  Catholic  world  abided  by  the  Pope's 
Encyclical. 

The  religious  agitation,  very  keen  among  the 
clergy  and  the  governing  classes,  did  not  extend  to 
the  streets,  the  shops,  or  the  factories.  It  was  none 
the  less  redoubtable  on  that  account.  Preluding  the 
political  opposition,  it  brought  into  renewed  prom- 
inence old  parliamentarians  tired  of  silence  and 
repose ;  it  recalled  the  brilliant  struggles  of  the  July 
monarchy  ;  it  revived  the  love  of  discussion  ;  it  made 
the  persecuted  Papacy  the .  rival  of  the  triumphant 
Empire. 

So  long  as  imperial  France  lived  in  harmony  with 
the  Church,  the  Comte  de  Chambord  had  spoken  of 
Napoleon  III.  with  a  certain  sympathy.  From  the 
moment  when  the  Pope  and  the  Emperor  became 
embroiled,  all  the  legitimist  passions,  drowsing  for 
many  years,  waked  up  again.     All  the  adversaries  of 


40  NAPOLEON  III 


the  Empire,  whoever  they  might  be,  saw  at  once  the 
advantage  to  be  gained  from  such  a  state  of  things. 
Nothing  is  more  dangerous  for  a  government  than 
to  find  itself  between  two  fires — an  opposition  of  the 
right  and  an  opposition  of  the  left.  This  was  the 
fate  reserved  for  the  Empire.  Up  to  its  very  end 
the  reign  was  exposed  to  a  coalition  of  clericals  and 
republicans. 

The  old  parties  took  courage.  It  pleased  them  to 
discover  that  the  Chambers  were  more  intractable, 
the  imperial  edifice  less  indestructible,  the  number 
of  malcontents  increasing,  and  the  accord  between 
the  throne  and  the  altar  less  durable  than  it  had 
seemed. 

What  aggravated  the  situation  was  that  even  the 
members  of  the  government,  the  senators,  deputies, 
diplomatists,  were  nearly  all  partisans  of  the  Pope 
and  decriers  of  the  Italian  policy. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE   DEATH   OF  THE  GRAND   DUCHESS   STEPHANIE 

ri  ^HE  difficulties  of  external  and  internal  policy 
did  not  interfere  with  the  social  whirl.  Paris 
was  for  a  time  as  brilliant  and  animated  as  in  pre- 
vious winters.  But  at  the  end  of  January  the 
festivities  of  the  court  and  official  society  were  in- 
terrupted for  several  days  by  a  death  which  greatly 
pained  the  Emperor,  that  of  his  near  relative,  the 
Grand  Duchess  Stephanie  of  Baden.  Few  careers 
have  been  so  curious  as  that  of  this  princess.  During 
her  infancy  no  one  could  have  foreseen  the  brilliant 
destiny  which  awaited  her. 

The  Marquis  de  Beauharnais,  father  of  Josephine's 
first  husband,  had  a  brother,  the  Comte  Claude,  who 
was  an  admiral,  and  who  married  Mademoiselle 
Fanny  Mouchard,  a  writer,  concerning  whom  the 
poet  Lebrun  made  this  malicious  epigram  :  — 

Two  little  freaks  of  Aglae,  belle  and  poet,  Fame  rehearses ; 
She  makes  her  face,  indeed,  but  then  she  does  not  make 
her  verses. 

Comte  Claude  and  Comtesse  Fanny  had  a  son 
named   Claude    like    his   father,   who   married  the 

41 


42  NAPOLEON    III 


daughter  of  the  Comte  de  Lezay-Marnesia.  From 
this  union  was  born  at  Paris,  August  28,  1779, 
Stephanie  de  Beauharnais,  the  future  Grand  Duch- 
ess of  Baden.  Her  father,  on  becoming  a  widower, 
had  confided  her  to  his  aunt,  an  aged  religious  re- 
siding at  Montauban,  and  she  was  living  there  very 
modestly,  in  complete  obscurity,  when  her  uncle, 
M.  de  Lezay-Marnesia,  conceived  the  notion  of  tak- 
ing her  to  Paris  and  presenting  her  to  the  wife  of 
the  First  Consul.  She  pleased  Josephine,  who  sent 
her  to  complete  her  education  at  Madame  Campan's 
fashionable  boarding-school  at  Saint-Germain.  When 
she  left  school  her  grace,  wit,  and  beauty  made  a  sen- 
sation at  the  court  of  the  Tuileries.  Napoleon  took 
such  a  fancy  to  her  that,  to  the  surprise  of  every- 
body, he  adopted  her  as  his  daughter,  March  3, 1806. 
She  became  an  Imperial  Highness  and  took  prece- 
dence of  the  Emperor's  own  sisters,  her  father,  mean- 
while, the  Comte  Claude  de  Beauharnais,  who  died 
in  1819  a  peer  of  France,  remaining  undistinguished 
among  other  members  of  the  Senate. 

A  month  later,  April  8, 1806,  the  adopted  daughter 
of  Napoleon  was  married  in  the  chapel  of  the  Tui- 
leries to  Charles  Louis  Frederic,  Hereditary  Prince 
of  Baden.  Nothing  could  have  proved  more  amply 
than  such  a  marriage  the  fascination  exerted  by  the 
victor  of  Austerlitz  over  Germany.  A  prince  be- 
longing to  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  illustrious 
families  in  the  world,  a  prince  who  was  brother-in- 
law  of  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  the  King  of  Sweden, 


DEATH  OF  THE  GRAND  DUCHESS  STEPHANIE    43 

and  the  King  of  Bavaria,  and  who  might  have  con- 
tracted an  alliance  with  the  oldest  of  reigning  fami- 
lies, had  come  to  the  point  of  congratulating  himself 
on  marrying  the  daughter  of  a  private  individual,  a 
French  senator,  a  person  linked  to  Napoleon  only  by 
adoption,  that  is  to  say,  by  a  whim  ! 

The  prince  ascended  the  throne  of  Baden  in  1811. 
No  sooner  had  Napoleon  fallen  than  instant  measures 
were  taken  to  induce  the  grand  duke  to  separate 
from  a  wife  whose  origin  had  become  suspect. 
But  he  refused  to  put  away  a  companion  for  whom 
he  had  both  respect  and  affection.  When  he  died, 
December  8,  1818,  his  widow,  who  was  not  yet 
thirty,  was  unwilling  to  leave  the  grand  duchy,  and 
took  up  her  residence  in  the  castle  of  Manheim, 
leaving  it  in  the  summer  to  go  either  to  Baden  or 
Umkirch,  an  estate  she  had  bought  near  Fribourg. 
She  had  lost  two  sons  in  infancy,  but  there  remained 
three  daughters  whom  she  brought  up  with  the 
utmost  care.  Well  educated  and  intelligent,  she 
assembled  around  her  a  little  court  of  artists,  men  of 
letters,  and  scientists. 

The  Grand  Duchess  Stephanie  remained  French 
in  her  memories  and  attachments.  Equally  linked 
to  her  two  countries,  France  and  Germany,  she 
did  all  that  lay  in  her  power  to  avert  a  collision 
between  two  great  races  which,  instead  of  contend- 
ing with  each  other  on  battlefields,  ought  to  know 
no  other  strifes  but  those  of  progress  and  civilization. 
Napoleon  III.,  who  wanted  to  live  in  peace  with 


44  napoleon  in 


Germany,  where  he  had  spent  a  part  of  his  youth, 
and  whose  language,  literature,  and  customs  he  knew 
so  well,  felt  indebted  to  the  princess  for  the  salutary 
influence  she  exerted  in  Baden,  and  retained  a  pro- 
found affection  for  her.  Always  grateful,  he  remem- 
bered that  she  had  not  waited  until  he  was  Emperor 
to  show  an  interest  in  him.  She  had  encouraged 
and  consoled  him  when  he  was  proscribed  and  un- 
happy. To  receive  her  at  the  Tuileries  was  one  of 
the  great  joys  of  the  former  exile  when  he  became  a 
powerful  sovereign. 

Finding  herself  in  great  suffering  at  the  close  of 
1859,  the  grand  duchess  left  the  cold  weather  of 
Baden  behind  her,  hoping  to  improve  her  health  at 
Nice.  Death  was  awaiting  her  there.  Supported 
amidst  her  pains  by  an  indomitable  strength  and 
energy  of  soul,  she  retained  until  the  end  that  intel- 
lectual activity,  that  marvellous  memory,  that  charm 
and  exquisite  gayety  which  had  endeared  her  to  all 
by  whom  she  was  surrounded. 

The  Grand  Duchess  Stephanie  had  had  three 
daughters.  The  eldest,  Princess  Louise,  died  before 
her  mother,  leaving  by  her  marriage  with  Prince 
Gustavus  Vasa  a  daughter  who  was  at  one  time 
thought  of  as  a  wife  for  Napoleon  III.,  and  who, 
having  married  the  Prince  Royal  of  Saxony  in  1853, 
is  now  reigning  at  Dresden.  The  second,  Princess 
Josephine,  married  in  1854  Prince  Antony  of  Hohen- 
zollern,  and  had  several  sons,  one  of  whom  is  now 
King  of  Roumania,  while  another,  Prince  Leopold,  a 


DEATH  OF  THE  GRAND  DUCHESS  STEPHANIE    45 

candidate  for  the  Spanish  throne  in  1870,  was  the 
indirect  cause  of  the  Franco-German  War.  The 
third  daughter,  Princess  Marie,  married  in  1848  a 
great  Scotch  lord,  the  Duke  of  Hamilton. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE   SPEECH   FROM  THE  THRONE 

TTNDER  the  Second  Empire  things  changed, 
^  incessantly,  from  gay  to  grave.  The  brilliant 
fetes  of  the  carnival,  unusually  dazzling  this  year, 
were  succeeded  by  the  opening  of  the  parliamentary 
session.  This  took  place,  March  1,  at  the  Louvre, 
in  the  Hall  of  States,  which  opens  into  the  great 
picture  gallery  and  is  near  the  Salon  CarrS. 

The  speeches  from  the  throne  were  always  an  event, 
Napoleon  III.  writing  them  himself  and  correcting 
the  proofs  with  the  utmost  care.  Pleasing  his  self- 
love  as  a  sovereign  and  a  writer  in  their  composition, 
he  delivered  them  afterward  in  a  sonorous  voice.  As 
formal  manifestations  of  the  imperial  mind,  they  were 
in  striking  contrast  with  the  commonplaces  of  other 
sovereigns  on  similar  occasions.  They  nearly  always 
expressed  great  ideas  in  an  imposing  and  really  mas- 
terly style.  Napoleon  III.  was  a  crowned  publicist, 
whose  language  could  be  equally  well  understood 
by  the  lettered  classes  and  the  masses.  Published 
at  once  after  delivery,  his  speeches  were  quickly 
transmitted  by  telegraph  to  all  countries.  Prob- 
ably no  documents  ever  attained  a  similar  publicity. 

46 


THE  SPEECH   FROM   THE   THRONE  47 

Their  author  undoubtedly  took  a  secret  satisfaction 
in  the  great  place  which  France  and  he  occupied  in 
the  world. 

In  1860,  the  speech  from  the  throne  was  still  more 
widely  read  and  commented  on  than  usual.  It  was 
like  an  oracle  whose  meaning  everybody  was  seeking 
to  divine. 

"  In  Europe,"  said  the  Emperor,"  the  difficulties 
are,  I  hope,  nearly  at  an  end,  and  Italy  is  on  the 
point  of  setting  up  boldly  for  herself.  The  pre- 
dominant idea  of  the  treaty  of  Villafranca  was  to 
obtain  the  almost  complete  independence  of  Venetia 
at  the  price  of  the  restoration  of  the  archdukes. 
This  arrangement  having  failed,  in  spite  of  most 
urgent  entreaties  on  my  part,  I  have  expressed  my 
regrets  for  it  to  Vienna  as  well  as  Turin.  .  .  .  As 
I  guaranteed  Italy  from  foreign  intervention  by  my 
army,  I  had  the  right  to  fix  the  limits  of  this  guar- 
anty, and  therefore  I  have  not  hesitated  to  inform 
the  King  of  Sardinia  that  although  I  would  leave 
him  perfect  freedom  of  action,  I  could  not  follow 
him  in  a  policy  prejudiced  in  the  eyes  of  Europe 
by  its  apparent  tendency  to  absorb  all  the  Italian 
States,  and  threatened  by  new  complications.  I 
have  advised  him  to  respond  favorably  to  those 
provinces  which  offer  themselves  to  him,  but  to 
maintain  the  autonomy  of  Tuscany  and  respect  in 
principle  the  rights  of  the  Holy  See.  Although 
this  arrangement  does  not  satisfy  everybody,  yet 
it   has  the   advantage   of   reserving   principles   and 


48  NAPOLEON  III 


calming  apprehensions,  while  it  makes  Piedmont  a 
kingdom  of  more  than  nine  millions  of  souls." 

The  sovereign  next  foreshadowed  the  proximate 
annexation  of  Nice  and  Savoy.  "In  view  of  this 
transformation  of  northern  Italy,  which  gives  to  a 
powerful  State  all  the  passages  of  the  Alps,  it  was 
my  duty,  for  the  safety  of  our  frontiers,  to  claim  the 
French  slopes  of  the  mountains.  There  is  nothing 
in  this  demand  for  a  very  limited  territory  which 
should  alarm  Europe  or  seem  to  contradict  that 
policy  of  disinterestedness  which  I  have  more  than 
once  proclaimed ;  because  France  does  not  wish  to 
make  this  acquisition,  insignificant  though  it  be, 
either  by  military  occupation,  instigated  insurrec- 
tion, or  underhand  manoeuvres,  but  by  frankly 
stating  the  question  to  the  great  powers." 

On  the  subject  of  the  religious  agitation  Napoleon 
III.  expressed  himself  as  follows :  "  I  cannot  pass 
over  in  silence  the  emotion  of  a  portion  of  the 
Catholic  world ;  it  has  suddenly  yielded  to  such 
inconsiderate  impressions ;  it  has  plunged  into  such 
passionate  alarms ;  the  past,  which  should  be  a 
guaranty  of  the  future,  has  been  so  disregarded, 
the  services  rendered  so  forgotten,  that  only  a  very 
profound  conviction,  a  most  absolute  confidence  in 
public  judgment,  could  have  enabled  me,  amidst  the 
agitations  wilfully  excited,  to  maintain  the  calmness 
which  alone  establishes  us  in  what  is  true.  The  facts, 
however,  speak  loudly  for  themselves.  For  the  last 
eleven  years  I  alone  have  maintained  in  Rome  the 


THE  SPEECH  FROM  THE  THRONE  49 

power  of  the  Holy  Father,  without  ceasing  for  a 
day  to  revere  in  him  the  sacred  character  of  the 
chief  of  our  religion. 

"  On  the  other  hand,  the  populations  of  the 
Romagna,  suddenly  left  to  themselves,  followed  a 
natural  impulse  and  sought  to  make  common  cause 
with  us  in  the  war.  Ought  I  to  forget  them  in 
peace,  and  deliver  them  anew,  for  an  unlimited 
period,  to  the  chances  of  a  foreign  occupation? 
My  first  attempt  was  to  reconcile  them  with  their 
sovereign,  and  being  unsuccessful  in  that,  I  have  at 
least  tried  to  safeguard  the  principle  of  the  Pope's 
temporal  power  in  the  revolted  provinces." 

The  Emperor  declared  the  time  had  come  "  to  put 
an  end  to  over-long  preoccupations  and  seek  for  means 
of  inaugurating  boldly  in  France  a  new  era  of  peace." 
He  stated  that  the  army  had  been  diminished  by 
150,000  men,  and  that  this  reduction  would  have 
been  greater  still  but  for  the  war  in  China  and  the 
occupation  of  Rome  and  Lombardy.  He  resolutely 
assumed  responsibility  for  the  commercial  treaty  with 
England,  and  ended  his  speech  with  this  truly  elo- 
quent conclusion  :  "  The  protection  of  Providence, 
so  visible  during  the  war,  will  not  be  lacking  to  a 
peaceful  enterprise  whose  object  is  the  amelioration 
of  the  condition  of  the  more  numerous  classes.  Let 
us  then  steadily  continue  our  progressive  march, 
delayed  neither  by  the  murmurs  of  selfishness,  the 
clamoring  of  parties,  nor  unjust  suspicions.  France 
threatens  no  one ;    she  wishes  to  develop  in  peace 


50  NAPOLEON  III 


the  immense  resources  bestowed  on  her  by  Heaven, 
and  she  ought  not  to  rouse  jealous  susceptibilities, 
since  at  our  present  state  of  civilization  a  truth 
which  consoles  and  reassures  humanity  becomes  every 
day  more  dazzlingly  evident :  namely,  that  the  more 
prosperous  a  country  becomes,  the  more  it  contributes 
to  the  riches  and  prosperity  of  all  others." 

Hearty  applause  greeted  this  humanitarian  and 
civilizing  peroration.  Napoleon  III.  had  addressed 
himself,  not  to  France  alone,  but  to  all  the  world. 

The  session  promised  from  the  first  to  be  particu- 
larly interesting.  Debate,  discussion,  so  long  out  of 
date,  seemed  to  be  rising  anew  from  the  ashes.  People 
began  to  wonder  whether  the  sovereign,  frightened 
by  the  extent  of  his  responsibility,  would  not  like  to 
devolve  some  of  it  upon  the  Senate  and  the  Corps 
Le"gislatif .  The  questions  at  stake  were  so  grave  ; 
they  raised  so  many  formidable  problems  from  both 
the  religious  and  the  political  point  of  view  ;  they 
involved  moral  and  material  interests  of  such  impor- 
tance, that  they  could  not  be  broached  in  the  Chambers 
without  producing  an  effect  on  the  public  at  large. 

The  Comte  de  Morny,  president  of  the  Corps 
Legislatif,  a  former  royalist  deputy  and  disciple  of 
M.  Guizot,  asked  nothing  better  than  a  return  to 
the  liberal  usages  of  the  period  when  he  obtained 
his  political  education  and  his  first  success.  Many 
senators  and  members  of  the  Corps  Legislatif  had 
belonged  either  to  the  Chamber  of  Peers  or  the 
Chamber   of    Deputies   under   Louis   Philippe,   and 


THE  SPEECH   FROM   THE   THRONE  51 

their  language  and  tendencies  showed  that  they 
had  not  forgotten  the  July  monarchy.  Up  to  the 
coup  oVEtat  of  the  2d  of  December,  they  had  lived 
under  a  liberal  regime,  and  were  now  visibly  revert- 
ing to  their  old  traditions. 

In  the  Corps  Legislatif  there  were  some  real  ora- 
tors whose  speeches  did  not  fail  of  an  echo,  not 
merely  in  the  assembly  but  outside  of  it,  in  spite  of 
the  trammels  created  by  the  Constitution  of  1852. 
The  tribune  was  suppressed  ;  but  the  orators  went 
on  speaking  from  their  own  benches.  The  speeches, 
instead  of  being  reproduced  at  length,  were  men- 
tioned only  in  brief  summaries  ;  the  ministers  did 
not  make  their  appearance  in  the  Chambers,  and  so 
the  debates  could  not  occasion  a  ministerial  crisis, 
yet  the  outlay  of  eloquence  was  by  no  means  wasted. 
The  government  was  always  sure  of  an  immense 
majority,  but  the  discussions  on  the  two  burning 
topics  —  the  Roman  question  and  the  commercial 
treaty  with  England  —  were  getting  to  be  keen  and 
passionate.  Although  disfigured  by  condensation, 
the  reports  of  the  sessions  were  bound  to  take  an 
unforeseen  development.  The  field  of  debate,  once 
so  narrowly  and  strictly  circumscribed,  showed  a 
tendency  to  expand.  On  certain  days  the  Corps 
Legislatif  was  all  the  fashion  and  made  itself  talked 
about.  Far-seeing  people  already  predicted  that 
soon  or  late  there  would  be  a  revival  of  parlementa- 
risme,  and  that  the  Constitution  of  1852,  once  so 
highly  vaunted,  was  not  going  to  last  forever. 


CHAPTER  IX 

MONSIEUR  THOUVENEL 

TT^XTERNAL  policy  occupied  the  public  mind 
~^  much  less  in  1860  than  that  of  the  interior. 
When  the  session  opened,  general  attention  was 
turned  upon  the  negotiations  concerning  the  annex- 
ation of  Nice  and  Savoy.  They  were  conducted 
with  unusual  skill  by  the  new  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  M.  Thouvenel,  who  occupies  a  great  place  in 
the  history  of  the  Second  Empire. 

M.  Thouvenel  was  born  at  Verdun,  November  11, 
1818.  He  belonged  to  an  old  and  honorable  family 
of  Lorraine.  His  father,  a  brave  artillery  officer, 
attracted  the  attention  of  Napoleon  I.  by  his  way  of 
commanding  a  battery  at  the  battle  of  Friedland  and 
was  granted  an  endowment.  He  defended  Luxem- 
burg against  the  allies  in  1814  and  Verdun  in 
1815.  Remaining  a  Bonapartist  under  the  Restora- 
tion, he  lived  in  retirement  until  the  revolution  of 
1830,  when  he  again  resumed  service  in  the  army, 
became  a  major-general,  and  was  about  to  be 
appointed  lieutenant-general  when  he  died  in  1843. 

The  son  of  General  Thouvenel  was  educated  in 
Lorraine.     From  early  childhood  he  showed  a  real 

52 


MONSIEUR   THOUVENEL  53 

vocation  for  historic  and  diplomatic  questions.  Im- 
mediately after  leaving  college,  he  made  a  journey  in 
the  Orient  and  brought  back  with  him  the  material 
for  a  book  which  appeared  as  a  series  of  articles  in 
the  Revue  des  Deux-Mondes  before  its  publication  as 
a  volume  entitled  Hungary  and  Wallachia.  General 
Baron  Athalin,  aide-de-camp  of  King  Louis  Philippe, 
was  a  friend  of  the  Thouvenel  family.  He  called 
the  attention  of  M.  Guizot  to  the  young  writer,  and 
obtained  his  admission  to  the  political  department  of 
the  Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs. 

M.  Thouvenel  had  an  exceptional  aptitude  for 
the  diplomatic  style.  He  was  a  first-class  editor. 
M.  Desages,  director  of  political  affairs,  instantly 
recognized  his  worth,  and  charged  him  with  two 
missions,  one  to  the  Comte  de  Bresser,  ambassador 
at  Madrid,  the  other  to  the  Comte  de  Saint-Aulaire, 
ambassador  at  London.  Both  ambassadors  appre- 
ciated him  and  became  his  protectors.  Made  an  at- 
tache of  the  embassy  of  France  at  Brussels,  he  was 
noticed  by  King  Leopold,  who  from  that  time  hon- 
ored him  with  a  special  friendship. 

Sent  to  Athens  toward  the  end  of  1845,  as  an 
attache  of  legation,  M.  Thouvenel  won  all  his  pro- 
motions there,  that  of  minister  plenipotentiary  in- 
cluded. He  was  appointed  secretary  of  legation  in 
1846,  and  his  chief,  M.  Piscatory,  having  been  called 
to  the  embassy  of  Spain,  he  found  himself  charge 
d'affaires  when  the  revolution  of  1848  broke  out. 
Recalled  in  the  first  instance,  he  was  finally  main- 


54  NAPOLEON  III 


tained  at  his  post  by  M.  de  Lamartine,  and  there 
obtained,  among  other  successes,  the  consolidation 
of  the  French  school.  Prince  Louis  Napoleon  ap- 
pointed him  minister  at  Athens,  March  5,  1849. 

The  post  of  Greece  was  at  that  time  a  post  of  com- 
bat. France,  England,  and  Russia,  each  of  which 
had  a  party  in  the  kingdom,  were  at  sword's  point 
with  each  other.  In  1850,  the  British  government, 
under  pretext  of  supporting  the  claim  of  a  Portu- 
guese Israelite  protected  by  England,  sent  fourteen 
ships  of  war  to  the  Piraeus  and  menaced  King 
Otho's  throne.  This  prince  always  maintained  that 
M.  Thouvenel  had  saved  him,  and  both  he  and 
Queen  Amelie  showed  him  persistent  gratitude. 

November  16,  1850,  M.  Thouvenel  exchanged  the 
post  of  Athens  for  that  of  Munich,  where  King  Maxi- 
milian I.,  brother  of  King  Otho,  gave  him  a  most 
cordial  reception.  In  February,  1852,  he  was  made 
chief  of  the  political  department  of  the  Ministry  of 
Foreign  Affairs. 

No  director  ever  displayed  greater  activity.  M. 
Thouvenel  did  not  content  himself  with  a  personal 
revision  of  despatches,  acts,  and  circulars,  but  found 
time  to  write  private  letters  with  his  own  hand  to 
the  heads  of  delegations  ;  and  these,  in  spite  of  the 
feverish  haste  of  their  author,  are  perhaps  even  more 
remarkable  and  interesting  than  the  official  corre- 
spondence. Fortunately,  his  son  has  published  them, 
and  they  will  remain  historic  documents  of  great 
value. 


MONSIEUR   THOUVENEL  55 

The  growing  reputation  of  M.  Thouvenel  possibly 
gave  umbrage  to  his  chief,  M.  Drouyn  de  Lhuys.  In 
1855,  the  minister,  then  fifty  years  old,  was  amazed 
on  finding  the  head  of  the  political  department,  who 
was  only  thirty-seven,  already  possessed  of  real  in- 
fluence with  the  sovereign.  When  M,  Drouyn  de 
Lhuys  was  sent  to  the  Vienna  Conference,  the  Em- 
peror required  that  the  Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs 
should  be  confided  to  M.  Thouvenel  during  the 
interim.  As  the  latter  received  none  but  incom- 
plete reports  from  Vienna,  he  was  greatly  offended, 
and  on  April  23, 1855,  addressed  the  following  letter 
to  the  Emperor  :  — 

"Sire,  I  ask  your  Majesty's  pardon  for  making, 
under  circumstances  so  grave,  an  appeal  to  his  kind- 
ness concerning  a  matter  which  touches  me  person- 
ally. So  long  as  the  proceedings  of  M.  Drouyn  de 
Lhuys  affected  merely  my  self-love,  I  met  them  with 
courage,  and,  I  venture  to  say,  with  a  little  pride. 
I  cannot  profit  to  the  same  degree  by  those  which 
compromise  the  service  of  the  Emperor.  M.  Drouyn 
de  Lhuys,  in  leaving  me  intentionally,  and  with  an 
offensive  affectation  of  suspecting  my  character,  in 
complete  ignorance  of  what  takes  place  in  Vienna, 
has  put  me  in  a  position  which  my  duties  toward 
your  Majesty  and  my  own  self-respect  forbid  me  to 
accept.  I  come  then  to  ask  your  Majesty  as  a  favor 
to  sign  the  decree  which  will  put  me  on  the  retired 
list  of  my  grade.  I  retain  the  hope  of  being  able, 
some   day,  to  serve  the    Emperor  once  more  with 


56  NAPOLEON  III 


unreserved  devotion,  as  I  have  done  up  to  the  pres- 
ent time."  This  letter  was  found,  after  the  revolu- 
tion of  September  4,  in  the  bureau  of  Napoleon  III. 
at  the  Tuileries,  and  was  transmitted  by  the  Comta 
de  KeVatry,  then  prefect  of  police,  to  the  son  of  the 
illustrious  diplomat. 

The  Emperor  replied  to  this  letter  of  resignation 
by  appointing  its  author  ambassador  at  Constanti- 
nople. Never  was  an  embassy  more  brilliant  or 
better  fulfilled  than  his.  This  was  the  zenith  of 
French  influence  in  the  East.  After  the  taking  of 
Sebastopol,  the  ascendency  of  Napoleon  III.  in 
Turkey  was  incomparable.  No  sultan  had  ever 
accepted  a  foreign  decoration.  Derogating  from 
this  rule  for  the  first  time,  Abdul-Medjid  gratefully 
received  the  broad  ribbon  of  the  Legion  of  Honor. 
A  still  more  surprising  thing,  never  seen  before 
nor  since,  the  Sultan  was  present  at  a  ball  given 
at  the  French  embassy.  This  memorable  ball  — 
M.  Georges  Cain  has  just  been  commissioned  by  the 
State  to  commemorate  it  in  a  painting  which  is 
to  hang  in  the  grand  salon  of  the  embassy  —  took 
place  February  4,  1856.  In  a  costume  glittering 
with  precious  stones,  and  wearing  the  broad  ribbon 
of  the  Legion  of  Honor,  the  Sultan  ascended  the 
steps  of  M.  Thouvenel's  residence  between  two  lines 
of  French  cavalry. 

For  nearly  five  years  the  ambassador  went  from 
one  success  to  another.  His  influence  was  abso- 
lutely preponderant.     The  most  impetuous  of  Eng- 


MONSIEUR    TUOUVENEL  57 

lish  ambassadors,  Lord  Stratford  de  Redcliffe,  tried 
in  vain  to  thwart  him,  and  losing  the  game,  left  his 
post  in  1858.  M.  Thouvenel  brought  to  a  happy 
finish  every  negotiation  that  he  undertook.  All 
questions  raised  by  the  treaty  of  Paris,  and  notably 
the  organization  of  the  Danubian  principalities, 
received  a  solution  in  conformity  with  French 
interests.  In  1856,  the  Sultan  gave  to  France  the 
church  of  St.  Anne,  founded  at  Jerusalem  by  a 
Lusignan,  on  the  site  of  the  house  in  which  the 
Blessed  Virgin  was  born.  The  negotiations  relating 
to  the  opening  of  the  Isthmus  of  Suez  succeeded. 
The  Christians  of  the  East  were  everywhere  pro- 
tected in  the  most  effectual  manner,  and  they  grate- 
fully acknowledged  that  France  was  truly  the  great 
nation.  In  order  to  show  his  gratitude  toward  his 
fortunate  ambassador,  Napoleon  III.  made  him  a  sen- 
ator in  1859. 

The  appointment  of  M.  Thouvenel  as  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs,  at  the  beginning  of  1860,  was  very 
favorably  received  by  public  opinion.  The  new 
minister  was  highly  appreciated,  not  merely  by  im- 
perialists, but  even  by  Orleanists,  who  remembered 
his  brilliant  beginnings  in  the  closing  years  of  the 
July  monarchy.  He  had  a  sister  who,  in  1841,  had 
married  M.  Cuvillier-Fleury,  formerly  preceptor, 
private  secretary,  and  intimate  friend  of  the  Due 
d'Aumale,  and  also  a  French  Academician.  M. 
Thouvenel  was  very  fond  of  his  brother-in-law,  and 
kept  up  an  active  correspondence  with  him.      He 


58  NAPOLEON  III 


had  relations  also  with  the  most  influential  literary 
men,  and  the  Parisian  press.  Convinced  of  the  im- 
portance of  newspapers  from  the  standpoint  of  for- 
eign policy,  he  knew  how  to  guide  them  aright  and 
supply  them  with  useful  information  ;  the  Revue  des 
Deux-Mondes  was  more  than  once  inspired  by  him. 

I  was  attached  to  the  political  department  during 
the  three  years  of  M.  Thouvenel's  ministry.  He 
encouraged  my  early  attempts,  and  gave  me  my  first 
promotion.  I  never  utter  his  name  without  grati- 
tude. He  has  left  in  me  the  souvenir  of  a  great 
minister  and  a  great  citizen,  a  finished  writer,  zeal- 
ous for  the  glory  and  greatness  of  France,  bringing 
a  limitless  zeal,  intelligence,  and  activity  to  the  exer- 
cise of  his  professional  duties ;  reflecting,  writing, 
working  day  and  night  to  the  extent  of  his  strength 
and  the  ruin  of  his  health  ;  a  sort  of  diplomatic  Ben- 
edictine, taking  no  relaxations,  and  finding  a  bitter 
pleasure  in  accomplishing  the  most  laborious  tasks 
and  broaching  the  most  difficult  of  political  prob- 
lems ;  at  once  a  student  and  a  man  of  action,  fond 
of  fighting,  going  to  meet  his  responsibilities,  and 
combating  his  adversaries  with  loyal  courtesy,  yet 
with  inflexible  animosity.  In  him  the  private  man 
was  as  worthy  of  respect  as  the  public  man.  In 
1849  he  had  married  a  very  distinguished  woman, 
Mademoiselle  Marie  Saget,  sister  of  the  general  of 
that  name.  The  idea  of  increasing  his  modest  for- 
tune never  occurred  to  him.  His  disinterestedness 
was  equalled  by  his  merit.     His  manners  and  speech 


MONSIEUR   THOUVENEL  59 

were  as  simple  as  they  were  courteous  and  kind. 
In  the  noble  sense  of  that  epithet  he  was  ambitious, 
but  it  was  for  his  country  far  more  than  for  himself. 
M.  Thouvenel  is  one  of  the  men  who  have  most 
dignified  the  reign  of  Napoleon  III. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE   QUESTION   OF   ITALY 

rriHE  Italian  question  had  just  entered  upon  a 
-*-  new  phase  when  M.  Thouvenel  took  possession 
of  the  portfolio  of  Foreign  Affairs.  There  was  no 
further  talk  of  Congress  or  Confederation.  Napo- 
leon III.  was  chiefly  occupied  in  considering  how  to 
free  himself  honorably,  and  without  offending  Aus- 
tria, from  the  trammels  of  Villafranca  and  Zurich. 
In  this  respect  he  found  facilities  in  the  attitude  of 
England.  That  power  had  just  formulated  the  fol- 
lowing propositions :  — 

1.  France  and  Austria  will  give  up  any  further 
interference  in  the  internal  affairs  of  Italy,  unless 
requested  to  intervene  by  the  unanimous  assent  of 
the  great  powers. 

2.  The  French  government  will  come  to  an  under- 
standing with  the  Holy  Father  for  evacuating  the 
Roman  States  when  the  organization  of  the  pontifi- 
cal army  permits,  and  when  the  French  troops  can 
be  withdrawn  from  Rome  without  endangering  order. 
The  French  army  will  likewise  quit  the  north  of  Italy 
within  a  suitable  time. 

3.  The  internal  organization  of  Venetia  will  be 
kept  apart  from  the  negotiations  between  the  powers. 

60 


THE  QUESTION   OF  ITALY  61 

~  <  »■■■  —  ■■■■-      .  ..i-        ■   "    ■    -— ■    ■  ■■       i-  i'      .—■■■■  m 

4.  The  King  of  Sardinia  will  be  requested  by  Eng- 
land and  France,  acting  in  concert,  to  send  no  troops 
into  central  Italy  until  its  various  States  and  prov- 
inces, by  a  new  vote  of  their  assemblies,  after  a 
new  election,  have  formally  expressed  their  wishes : 
if  these  assemblies  decide  in  favor  of  annexation, 
France  and  Great  Britain  will  no  longer  oppose  the 
entry  of  the  Sardinian  troops. 

After  an  exchange  of  communications  with  the 
different  courts,  France,  modifying  in  a  spirit  of 
conciliation  the  British  propositions,  substituted  for 
them,  toward  the  end  of  February,  the  three  that 
follow  :  — 

1.  Complete  annexation  of  the  duchies  of  Parma 
and  Modena  to  Sardinia. 

2.  Temporal  administration  of  the  Romagna  under 
the  form  of  a  vicariate  exercised  by  the  King  of  Sar- 
dinia in  the  name  of  the  Holy  See. 

3.  Reestablishment  of  the  grand  duchy  of  Tus- 
cany in  its  political  and  territorial  autonomy. 

At  this  period  M.  Thouvenel  was  not  in  favor  of 
Italian  unity.  In  the  Roman  question  he  desired, 
as  he  said,  faire  la  part  dufeu,  that  is,  to  abandon  the 
Romagna  to  Piedmont  and  reserve  the  remainder  of 
his  States  to  the  Pope.  In  order  to  claim  jurisdic- 
tion over  Nice  and  Savoy,  he  was  willing  to  see 
the  annexations  in  central  Italy  carried  out,  but  he 
hoped  the  Emperor  would  prevent  the  Piedmontese 
from  seizing  the  Two  Sicilies. 

In  a  private  letter  addressed,  March  18,  to  the 


62  NAPOLEON  III 


Due  de  Gramont,  ambassador  of  France  at  Rome, 
the  minister  wrote  as  follows  concerning  the  Pope 
and  the  King  of  Naples :  "  Italian  unity  displeases 
us  as  much  as  it  does  them,  and,  fire  allowed  for, 
God  knows  how  long  in  the  north  of  the  peninsula, 
we  would  be  very  sincerely  desirous  to  keep  the 
conflagration  from  reaching  the  south.  We  are  the 
only  ones  that  have  the  desire  and  power  to  do  so, 
but  on  condition,  however,  that  we  are  assisted,  and 
that  it  shall  not  be  forgotten  that  human  policy  con- 
sists merely  in  the  art  of  compromises.  To  intro- 
duce the  inflexibility  of  dogmas  into  it  is  to  plunge 
into  the  abyss.  Doubtless  the  Church  will  not  perish, 
but  the  method  they  are  pursuing  at  Rome  will  de- 
prive them  of  the  temporal  power." 

The  policy  of  compromises  failed  utterly.  Pius 
IX.  considered  the  idea  of  a  vicariate  of  the  King 
of  Sardinia  in  the  Romagna  as  mere  mockery,  and 
indignantly  rejected  it.  At  the  same  time,  the  Cabi- 
net of  Turin  declared  it  would  accept  no  solution 
in  Tuscany  but  that  of  annexation  pure  and  simple. 

As  for  Austria,  it  continued  to  maintain  the  rights 
of  the  dispossessed  princes  in  Italy,  but  no  longer 
dreamed  of  employing  force  to  restore  them.  In 
reality,  it  did  not  care  to  enter  into  a  confederation 
whose  principal  part  would  be  played  by  the  King  of 
Sardinia  ;  what  did  concern  it  was  to  preserve  the 
quadrilateral  and  entire  sovereignty  in  Venetia.  Its 
language  with  reference  to  Napoleon  III.  remained 
friendly.      Its  Minister  of   Foreign  Affairs,  Count 


THE  QUESTION  OF  ITALY  63 

Rechberg,  wrote,  on  February  17,  to  Prince  Metter- 
nich,  ambassador  of  Francis  Joseph  at  Paris  :  "  We 
join  in  the  hope  of  which  M.  Thouvenel  has  made 
himself  the  eloquent  interpreter  by  proving  that  if 
differences  of  opinion  may  and  sometimes  must  lead 
to  different  conclusions,  it  is  not  necessary  that, 
when  honor  is  safeguarded  on  either  side,  there 
should  result  from  them  disastrous  conflicts,  remote 
alike  from  the  intentions  of  France  and  Austria." 

From  the  moment  it  ceased  to  be  afraid  of  inter- 
vention, the  Piedmontese  government  naturally  went 
straight  to  its  object.  Count  Cavour,  who  had 
returned  to  power  in  January,  felt  himself  master 
of  the  situation.  He  had  just  sent  as  charge 
d'affaires  to  Paris  a  young  man,  still  unknown,  but 
full  of  tact  and  cleverness,  M.  Nigra,  his  disciple 
and  alter  ego.  At  the  same  time  he  had  intrusted  a 
confidential  mission  near  the  Emperor  to  an  old 
friend  of  the  sovereign,  M.  Arese,  that  great  Milan- 
ese noble  who  rendered  the  Italian  cause  more  ser- 
vices than  the  professional  diplomats,  and  who  had 
an  extraordinary  influence  over  Napoleon  III. 

The  annexations  of  central  Italy  were  evidently 
to  be  accomplished.  Their  success  had  been  pre- 
pared for  by  the  presence  of  the  French  army,  still 
encamped  in  Lombardy,  and  making  an  offensive 
return  of  Austria  impossible.  These  annexations 
were  to  modify  profoundly  the  respective  situations 
of  Piedmont  and  France. 

After  the  peace  of  Villafranca,  which,  contrary  to 


64  NAPOLEON  III 


his  programme,  Italy  free  from  the  Alps  to  the  Adri- 
atic, had  left  Venetia  to  the  Austrians,  Napoleon  III. 
said  to  Victor  Emmanuel,  "There  will  be  no  fur- 
ther question  of  Nice  and  Savoy."  But  now  things 
were  changed.  The  Emperor  could  no  longer  em- 
ploy such  language  without  betraying  the  interests 
of  France. 

According  to  the  statistics  of  1860,  the  old  king- 
dom of  Piedmont  comprised  5,194,807  inhabitants, 
to  whom  there  had  been  adjoined  3,009,505  Lom- 
bards. Napoleon  III.  had  not  thought  this  increase 
large  enough  to  justify  him  in  claiming  Savoy  and 
Nice.  But  things  were  different  from  the  moment 
when  to  a  population  of  8,204,312  souls,  composed  of 
Piedmontese  and  Lombards,  there  were  to  be  joined 
604,512  Modenese,  499,835  Parmesans,  375,631  Ro- 
magnols,  and  1,793,967  Tuscans.  Thenceforward 
the  formation  of  a  considerable  state,  possessing 
both  slopes  of  the  Alps,  became  a  matter  of  serious 
import  to  the  safety  of  French  frontiers.  It  was 
not  in  the  name  of  ideas  of  nationality,  nor  yet  as 
natural  frontiers,  that  France  was  obliged  to  insist 
on  the  annexation  of  Savoy  and  Nice  to  its  terri- 
tory ;  it  was  simply  as  a  guaranty. 

In  a  book  entitled  Italian  Unity,  M.  Giacometti 
puts  this  question  to  his  readers,  —  "I  ask  all  honest 
men,  in  Italy  and  everywhere  else,  whether  any 
French  government,  empire,  royalty,  or  republic, 
finding  itself  like  that  of  Napoleon  III.  in  a  position 
to  obtain  such  a  rectification  of  frontiers  in  exchange 


THE  QUESTION  OF  ITALY  65 

for  immense  services  rendered,  and  to  be  rendered, 
could  fail  to  demand  it  of  Italy  without  being  guilty 
of  high  treason  to  France  ?  " 

M.  Giacometti  adds  this  striking  remark  :  "  Let 
us  change  for  a  moment  the  terms  of  the  proposi- 
tion ;  look  at  it  no  longer  from  the  French  point  of 
view,  but  from  that  of  Italy,  happening  to  find  itself 
in  a  similar  situation.  Let  us  admit  for  an  instant 
an  hypothesis  which,  for  that  matter,  presents  noth- 
ing impossible  in  the  internal  development  of  the 
history  of  European  States  :  suppose  the  Austro- 
Hungarian  monarchy  threatened  with  subjugation 
by  one  of  its  two  powerful  neighbors  —  Prussia  or 
Russia,  it  matters  not  which  —  and  saved  from  this 
imminent  enslavement  by  the  providential  aid  of  an 
Italian  army.  Where  is  the  Italian  citizen  who 
would  not  curse  as  traitors  any  statesmen  of  his 
country  who,  as  the  price  of  such  a  service,  would 
not  demand  the  restoration  of  Trieste  to  Italy,  or, 
at  any  rate,  the  return  of  the  territory  of  Trent, 
through  which  Austria  has  free  access  to  Milan, 
just  as  Italy,  through  Savoy  and  Nice,  had  free 
access  to  Lyons  and  Marseilles  ?  " 

The  future  was  to  justify  completely  the  precau- 
tion taken  by  the  Emperor's  government.  Have  we 
not,  in  fact,  seen  Italy  when  she  possessed  Rome 
as  capital,  and  had  absolutely  nothing  to  fear  from 
republican  France,  enter  into  that  essentially  anti- 
French  combination,  the  Triple  Alliance  ? 


CHAPTER  XI 

NICE  AND  SAVOY 

"\JT  THOUVENEL'S  chief  title  to  the  gratitude 
-*-»-*-•  of  France  was  the  annexation  of  Nice  and 
Savoy.  The  merit  of  it  is  due  to  the  Emperor  and 
to  him.  England  tried  by  every  means  to  prevent 
it,  and  labored  incessantly  to  form  a  coalition  against 
Napoleon  III.  The  least  hesitation,  the  slightest 
weakness  on  the  part  of  the  French  government, 
would  have  wrecked  the  negotiations.  A  Minister 
of  Foreign  Affairs,  as  resolute,  energetic,  accustomed 
to  struggle  as  M.  Thouvenel,  was  required  to  bring 
an  enterprise  impeded  by  the  greatest  obstacles  to 
a  happy  termination. 

England  had  flattered  itself  that  France  could  be 
contented  everywhere  and  always,  as  she  had  been 
in  the  Crimea,  by  so-called  moral  advantages,  and 
consider  herself  happy  to  put  her  armies  and  navies 
at  the  service  of  British  interests,  without  ever 
demanding  anything  for  herself.  This  policy  of 
dupes  could  not  last  forever.  It  was  plain  to  the 
Emperor  that  if  he  continued  it,  he  would  offend  the 
national  sentiment  and  expose  himself  to  just  criti- 
cisms.    At  last  he  knew  what  he  wanted,  and,  sec- 

66 


NICE  AND   SAVOY  67 

onded  by  a  minister  with  whom  he  was  then  in 
perfect  community  of  views,  he  braved  all  opposition 
and  went  straight  to  his  object,  fully  conscious  of 
his  authority,  rectitude,  and  power. 

Under  the  ministry  of  the  Comte  Walewski,  all 
idea  of  annexation  to  France  seemed  to  have  been 
abandoned,  and  it  may  be  affirmed  that  if  Victor 
Emmanuel  had  not  insisted  upon  incorporating  Tus- 
cany, the  Emperor  would  have  claimed  no  increase 
of  territory.  The  Piedmontese  ambitions,  favored 
by  the  English,  forced  him  to  demand  guarantees, 
which,  in  virtue  of  the  arrangements  of  Plombieres, 
were  to  restore  the  equilibrium  and  assure  the  secu- 
rity of  France  on  its  Alpine  frontier. 

The  Sardinian  government  would  have  liked  to 
take  everything  and  give  nothing.  In  July,  1859, 
it  had  crushed  a  certain  agitation  which  had  arisen 
in  Annecy  and  Chambery  in  favor  of  France.  It 
respected  the  wishes  of  populations  only  when  they 
tended  to  its  own  advantage.  Napoleon  III.  wished 
to  bring  matters  back  to  the  point.  The  Patrie, 
a  semi-official  journal,  published  two  articles,  Janu- 
ary 25  and  27,  in  which  it  was  said  that  Savoy 
and  the  territory  of  Nice  desired  to  be  reunited  to 
France. 

It  is  curious  to  note  that  the  men  who  most  ar- 
dently approved  the  annexation  after  it  was  made, 
were  those  who  criticised  it  most  adversely  in  the 
beginning.  Among  others  let  us  cite  M.  Eugene 
Forcade,  the  chronicler  of  the  fortnight  in  the  Revue 


68  NAPOLEON  III 


de8  Deux-Mondes.  On  February  1  he  wrote:  "In 
our  view,  the  prospect  of  annexing  Savoy  to  France 
has  been  very  inopportunely  brought  into  view  by 
the  journals.  .  .  .  We  fear  lest  the  question,  having 
been  broached  too  soon,  may  be  immature  in  every 
sense.  ...  It  would  not  be  at  all  surprising  if  the 
annexation,  were  it  officially  proposed,  should  en- 
counter objections  on  the  part  of  Europe,  Piedmont, 
and  Savoy,  which  it  would  be  imprudent  to  contemn. 
The  European  objections  would  evidently  refer  in 
general  to  the  probable  consequences  of  applying  to 
the  rectification  of  French  frontiers,  either  the  prin- 
ciple of  natural  frontiers  or  that  of  nationalities, 
particularly  with  reference  to  the  interests  of  Swiss 
neutrality." 

M.  Forcade  did  not  hesitate  to  approve  the  resist- 
ance of  Piedmont.  "  Savoy,"  said  he,  "  is  the  cradle 
of  the  Sardinian  dynasty,  and  everybody  will  recog- 
nize how  much  it  will  cost  King  Victor  Emmanuel 
to  part  with  the  brave  country  whose  destinies  for 
eight  centuries  have  been  associated  with  the  fortune 
and  the  glory  of  his  race.  The  extension  of  Pied- 
mont toward  central  Italy  would  weaken  him  from 
the  military  point  of  view  if  it  has  to  be  paid  for  by 
the  sacrifice  of  Savoy.  Lacking  the  strong  position 
of  Savoy,  which  secures  him  the  shelter  of  the  Alpine 
slopes,  Piedmont  could  not  hold  her  own  against 
Austria,  still  less  resist  France  should  we  become 
her  enemies." 

The  Sardinian  government  had  organized  at  Cham- 


NICE  AND  SAVOY  69 

bery,  January  25,  a  manifestation  in  which  figured 
an  address  of  fidelity  to  the  king  with  many  signa- 
tures. The  writer  in  the  Revue  des  Deuz-Mondes 
thought  manifestations  of  this  sort  very  opportune. 
"  The  imprudent  annexationist  exhortations  of  our 
semi-official  press,"  said  he,  "  have  stirred  up  Savoy- 
ard patriotism  and  provoked  unmistakable  demon- 
strations. The  Savoyards  wish  to  preserve  their 
history  and  their  liberal  institutions.  It  is  not  at 
a  moment  when  they  can  claim  so  large  a  share  of 
glory  in  the  fortunes  of  the  House  of  Savoy  that 
they  care  to  plunge  and  disappear,  as  a  popular 
proclamation  expresses  it,  in  the  gulf  of  a  great 
centralized  nation." 

The  writer  concluded  thus,  "  In  spite  of  the  asser- 
tions of  the  second-class  French  press,  there  is  no 
annexationist  party  in  Savoy,  but  only  a  separatist 
intrigue." 

M.  Forcade  returned  to  the  charge  in  the  issue  of 
February  15.  Playing  England's  game,  he  wrote  : 
"We  are  much  too  good  Frenchmen,  we  have  too 
exalted  an  idea  of  the  actual  and  effective  power  of 
our  country  to  believe  that  this  power  needs  to  be 
increased  or  defended  by  any  acquisition  of  territory 
whatever.  On  the  contrary,  we  dread  to  see  the 
moral  prestige  of  France  diminished  if  it  shows 
itself  capable  of  sacrificing  important  interests  and 
raising  serious  difficulties  in  Europe  for  the  meagre 
satisfaction  of  obtaining  a  patch  of  mountains.  .  .  . 
The  acquisition  of  a  little  country  which  has  a  glori- 


70  NAPOLEON  III 


ous  history  and  possesses  very  advanced  liberal 
institutions,  seems  to  us  a  rather  disedifying  spec- 
tacle in  our  age ;  France  will  not  realize  a  great 
idea  nor  win  great  honor  by  taking  part  in  it." 

It  must  be  recognized  that  throughout  the  entire 
period  of  the  Second  Empire,  the  majority  of  writers 
belonging  to  the  liberal  party  showed  themselves 
more  Italian  and  Prussian  than  French. 

M.  Thouvenel  remained  undisturbed  by  the  ob- 
jections made,  not  merely  abroad,  but  in  France,  to 
the  realization  of  a  project  essentially  patriotic  and 
national.  He  put  this  ultimatum  distinctly  to  Pied- 
mont :  either  renounce  central  Italy,  or  give  Nice 
and  Savoy  to  France.  The  Emperor  would  consent 
that  Victor  Emmanuel  should  reign  in  Parma,  Mo- 
dena,  Florence,  and  the  Romagnas,  but  on  a  sine  qua 
non  condition,  namely,  that  France  should  obtain 
the  frontier  of  the  Alps. 

The  Piedmontese  government,  whose  only  secu- 
rity against  an  offensive  return  of  Austria  was  the 
good  will  of  Napoleon  III.,  dared  not  take  any 
exception  to  this,  but  it  probably  harbored  an 
expectation  that  what  was  impossible  in  itself 
would  be  done  for  it  by  the  great  powers,  whose 
jealousy  would  prevent  the  Emperor's  plan  from 
being  successful. 

The  moment  was  critical.  The  annexations  of 
central  Italy  were  on  the  point  of  accomplishment. 
If  France  lost  a  minute  she  would  be  mystified  and 
tricked.     Napoleon    III.    and    M.    Thouvenel   com- 


NICE  AND   SAVOY  71 

prehended   this.       They    took    their    stand    boldly, 
irrevocably  determined  not  to  retreat  a  single  step. 

Victor  Emmanuel  had  just  gone  to  Milan  for 
the  Carnival.  Baron  de  Talleyrand,  Minister  of 
France,  had  followed  him  thither  with  the  legation. 
A  ball  was  given  to  the  King  by  the  notables  and 
merchants  of  the  city.  Just  as  he  came  out  from 
this  ball,  the  French  diplomat  found  a  telegram 
in  cipher  from  M.  Thouvenel.  It  ordered  him  to 
announce  at  once  to  Count  Cavour  that  the  French 
troops  were  going  to  evacuate  Lombardy,  and  to 
resume  urgently  the  negotiations  relative  to  Nice 
and  Savoy. 

It  was  two  o'clock  in  the  morning.  M.  de  Talley- 
rand started  at  once  for  the  Palais-Royal,  where 
M.  Cavour  was  lodging  with  the  sovereign.  The 
King  and  his  minister  were  just  alighting  from 
their  carriage,  on  returning  from  the  ball,  when 
M.  de  Talleyrand  arrived  in  the  court  of  the  palace. 
Received  without  delay  by  the  minister,  he  read 
him  the  telegraphic  despatch. 

Count  Cavour  appeared  somewhat  surprised  by 
the  order  of  evacuation,  considering  it  premature. 
Smiling,  he  said :  "  If  the  English  had  occupied 
Genoa  under  the  same  conditions  that  you  occupy 
Milan  and  Lombardy,  do  you  think  they  would 
have  been  in  such  a  hurry  as  you  are  to  abandon 
Italy  ?  However,  it  was  foreseen ;  everything  is 
for  the  best,  and  we  accept  this  decision  of  the 
Emperor  with  more  pleasure  than  the  second  part 


72  NAPOLEON  III 


of  the  despatch.  He  sticks  fast  then  to  Savoy  and 
that  wretched  city  of  Nice  ?  "  Baron  de  Talleyrand 
replied  that  France  and  the  Emperor  considered 
the  thing  as  done,  and  that  for  his  own  part  he 
expected  no  discussion  with  the  Cabinet  of  Turin 
except  as  to  the  method  of  closing  the  negotiation 
which  would  be  most  advantageous  to  both  gov- 
ernments. And  yet  nothing  was  concluded.  It 
remained  to  be  seen  what  the  great  powers  would 
do. 


CHAPTER   XII 

THE   GREAT   POWERS 

T  [  ^HE  question  of  Nice  and  Savoy  revived  all  the 
hereditary  jealousies  and  prejudices  of  Eng- 
land against  France.  The  Queen,  Prince  Albert, 
the  ministers,  Parliament,  the  journals,  all  classes 
of  English  society,  suddenly  manifested  positive 
hostility  to  Napoleon  III. 

In  1854,  her  Britannic  Majesty  had  written 
apropos  of  the  Emperor  in  her  private  journal  : 
"  I  am  glad  to  know  this  extraordinary  man  whom 
it  is  impossible  not  to  like  and  even  to  admire 
considerably,  after  having  lived  with  him  for  no 
matter  how  short  a  time.  I  think  him  capable  of 
kindness,  affection,  and  gratitude.  I  have  confi- 
dence in  him  for  the  future.  I  think  his  friendship 
for  us  is  sincere,  and  I  hope  we  have  secured  his 
candor  and  fidelity  for  the  rest  of  our  lives." 

What  a  difference  between  this  language  and  that 
employed  by  the  Queen  in  1860  !  "  We  have  been 
completely  duped,"  she  wrote  to  Lord  John  Russell, 
February  5.  "  The  return  to  the  English  alliance, 
to  universal  peace,  respect  for  treaties,  commercial 
fraternity,  etc.,  were  but  so  many  masks  to  disguise 

73 


74  NAPOLEON  III 


from  Europe  a  policy  of  speculation.  .  .  .  Sardinia 
enlarges  its  boundaries  at  the  expense  of  Austria 
and  the  House  of  Lorraine,  and  it  is  France  that 
must  be  compensated  !  The  passes  of  the  Alps  are 
dangerous  to  neighbors,  and  the  weakest  must  sur- 
render them  to  the  strongest !  .  .  .  France  accepts 
the  principle  of  non-intervention  in  Italy,  and  yet 
gives  us  to  understand  that  its  army  of  Lombardy 
will  not  be  recalled  until  the  Italian  question  is 
settled  in  a  permanent  and  satisfactory  manner. 
This  solution  must  repose,  therefore,  on  the  prin- 
ciple of  non-intervention  in  the  shadow  of  its 
bayonets." 

In  the  House  of  Lords,  that  day,  there  was  much 
declamation  against  the  scheme  attributed  to  France. 
Lord  Grey  said  :  "  The  annexation  would  be  so 
prejudicial  to  the  peace  of  Europe  that  government 
ought  to  do  all  in  its  power  to  avert  such  a  catas- 
trophe. ...  If  it  is  really  true  that  a  secret  treaty 
has  been  concluded  between  France  and  Sardinia  for 
their  mutual  aggrandizement,  it  would  be  difficult  to 
find  words  severe  enough  to  denounce  the  injustice 
and  immorality  of  such  a  contract,  which  might  be 
called  a  great  crime  against  the  civilized  world." 
Lord  Shaftesbury,  Palmerston's  son-in-law,  went 
still  further,  exclaiming  with  a  vehemence  which 
bordered  on  the  ridiculous,  "The  tj^ffic  in  the 
rights  of  man  which  is  about  to  be  practised  in 
Savoy  deserves  to  be  repressed  as  severely  as  the 
traffic  in  human  flesh."     The  House  of  Lords  was 


THE  GREAT  POWERS  75 

unanimous   in   demanding    that    these    observations 
should  be  presented  to  the  French  government. 

The  prime  minister,  Lord  Palmerston,  had  always 
felt  a  sympathy  for  Napoleon  III.,  and  still  observed 
a  certain  decorum.  But  the  chief  of  the  Foreign 
Office,  Lord  John  Russell,  was  literally  exasperated. 
As  his  biographer  wrote  later  on,  the  project  of  the 
annexation  of  Savoy  "  discounted  for  him  all  his 
successes." 

Knowing  that  it  could  not  thwart  the  Emperor's 
plan  unaided,  the  Cabinet  of  London  knocked  at 
every  door  in  hopes  of  organizing  a  European 
resistance.  It  acted  not  merely  in  Savoy  and 
Switzerland,  but  in  Berlin,  Vienna,  and  St.  Peters- 
burg. Always  a  German  at  heart,  Prince  Albert 
chiefly  sought  to  rouse  the  suspicions  of  Germany 
and  convince  it  that  the  annexation  of  Nice  and 
Savoy  threatened  the  banks  of  the  Rhine.  "No 
one,"  he  wrote  in  his  private  journal,  "  cares  to 
make  war  for  Savoy  ;  but  a  European  concert  would 
be  a  powerful  barrier  against  such  tricks  of  leger- 
demain." 

Personally,  the  Prince  Regent  of  Prussia  would 
have  been  well  enough  inclined  to  follow  the  sugges- 
tions of  Prince  Albert,  to  whom  he  wrote  March  4  : 
"  As  Venetia  must  now  remain  intact,  the  programme 
*  as  far  as  the  Adriatic '  is  fortunately  not  accom- 
plished ;  hence  the  annexation  of  Nice  and  Savoy 
is  by  no  means  justified.  .  .  .  Nobody  is  more 
interested  in  the  question  than  Prussia    and    Ger- 


76  NAPOLEON  III 


many,  on  account  of  the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine, 
which  corresponds  exactly  with  what  the  slopes  of 
the  Alps  would  be  as  a  line  of  protection  in  case 
of  an  invasion  by  the  Alpine  passes."  But,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  Prince  Regent,  whose  ulterior 
schemes  of  aggrandizement  were  already  taking 
shape,  may  have  thought  that  Napoleon  III.  would 
assist  him  in  carrying  them  out.  A  predatory 
power,  Prussia  occasionally  had  an  intuition  that  it 
would  do  in  Germany  what  Piedmont  was  doing 
in  Italy.  Nevertheless,  in  spite  of  this  considera- 
tion, Prussia  would  probably  have  been  tugged 
along  in  England's  wake  if  it  had  not  been  afraid 
of  displeasing  Russia,  which  formally  declared  itself 
in  favor  of  France. 

The  English  grievances  awoke  no  echo  in  Vienna. 
The  Cabinet  of  London  had  been  discredited  there  by 
making  itself  the  champion  of  Piedmontese  greed, 
and  the  Austrian  government  was  diverted  by  its 
present  discomfiture.  Lord  Loftus,  English  ambas- 
sador at  Vienna,  having  asked  the  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs  what  view  he  took  of  the  French 
annexations  in  Savoy  and  Nice,  M.  de  Rechberg 
replied  with  ironic  coolness,  "  The  same  view  that 
we  took  of  the  Piedmontese  annexations  in  central 
Italy."  M.  de  Rechberg  did  more.  In  an  official 
despatch  he  declared  that  as  between  the  annexations 
there  was  this  difference  in  favor  of  France,  namely, 
that  for  the  cession  of  Nice  and  Savoy  there  would 
be  the  consent  of  the  dispossessed  sovereign,  which 


THE  GREAT  POWERS  77 

was  not  the  case  for  Parma,  Modena,  the  Romagna, 
or  Tuscany. 

In  St.  Petersburg,  England  met  a  complete  rebuff. 
The  Due  de  Montebello,  French  ambassador  in  Russia, 
sent  the  following  telegraphic  despatch  to  M.  Thou- 
venel  March  11  :  "  Prince  Gortchakoff  said  to  me  : 
'  England  is  trying  to  organize  a  crusade  against 
France  on  the  continent  about  Savoy  and  Nice. 
It  would  not  greatly  afflict  Austria  to  see  an  un- 
friendly understanding  against  you ;  and  you  do 
not  need  to  be  informed  of  Prussia's  sentiments  : 
they  are  not  altogether  favorable  on  this  point.  I 
have  interviewed  the  Emperor  and  inquired  how 
Russia  is  disposed  and  how  he  will  act.  I  beg  you 
to  listen  to  my  words  as  if  they  came  from  his  own 
mouth.  Russia's  only  concern  is  to  examine  the 
question  of  the  cession  made  to  France  by  the  King  of 
Sardinia  from  the  point  of  view  of  general  equilib- 
rium. Will  this  cession  disturb  the  European  equi- 
librium ?  No.  That  is  our  answer.  Therefore,  we 
shall  make  no  objections,  even  if  we  stand  alone  in 
Europe  on  that  question.'  Prince  Gortchakoff  said, 
as  he  took  my  hand,  '  You  may  rely  on  Russia. ' 
We  can  rely  on  her." 

Adroit  as  M.  Thouvenel  was,  it  may  be  affirmed 
that  all  his  negotiations  would  have  failed  but  for 
the  good  will  of  the  Russian  government.  If  the 
Cabinet  of  St.  Petersburg  had  ranged  itself  on  Eng- 
land's side,  it  would  have  drawn  the  other  powers 
along  with  it ;  and  had  Europe  declared  against  the 


78  NAPOLEON  III 


annexation,  Napoleon  III.  could  not  have  accom- 
plished it. 

The  events  of  1860,  like  those  of  1859,  proved 
how  necessary  the  friendship  of  Russia  was  to  im- 
perial France.  But  for  Russia,  the  Emperor  never 
could  have  made  the  war  of  Italy.  He  would  have 
found  Prussia  and  the  whole  Germanic  Confederation 
against  him  but  for  Russia.  But  for  Russia,  a  coali- 
tion of  the  powers  would  have  prevented  the  annexa- 
tion of  Nice  and  Savoy. 

The  question  proved  in  an  evident  manner  that 
there  existed  the  elements  of  a  real  alliance,  equally 
useful  to  each,  between  the  two  empires.  Differing 
in  this  from  the  other  European  powers,  Russia  had 
no  interest  in  opposing  the  territorial  development 
of  France.  What  danger,  what  inconvenience,  could 
result  to  an  empire  so  immense  as  that  of  the  Czars, 
from  the  fact  that  France  was  adding  three  depart- 
ments to  her  territory. 

One  of  the  merits  of  M.  Thouvenel  was  that  he 
perfectly  appreciated  the  advantages  of  the  Russian 
alliance.  As  long  as  he  remained  at  the  head  of 
affairs,  there  was  harmony  between  Paris  and  St. 
Petersburg.  From  the  day  when  his  successor  de- 
parted from  this  safe  path,  the  diplomatic  situation 
of  France  was  put  in  jeopardy,  and  the  final  catas- 
trophes might  already  be  foreseen.  So  long  as 
Napoleon  III.  remained  faithful  to  the  Stuttgart 
agreement,  all  succeeded  with  him.  No  sooner  did 
he  vary  from  it  than  all  turned  against  him. 


THE  GREAT  POWERS  79 

The  France  of  to-day  will  not  be  ungrateful.  She 
will  never  forget  that  but  for  Russia  she  would  not 
possess  Savoy  and  Nice,  those  two  admirable  gems  in 
her  casket  as  a  great  nation.  She  will  remember 
that  in  1860  England  was  envious  and  Russia  was 
helpful. 


CHAPTER   XIII 

THE   TREATY   OF   TURIN 

rpHE  annexations  of  central  Italy  were  accom- 
-*-  plished.  In  Tuscany,  366,571  voters  out  of  a 
total  of  386,445  had  declared  for  the  union  with 
Piedmont,  and  14,925  for  a  separate  kingdom.  The 
result  was  proclaimed  at  Florence,  March  15,  by 
heralds  at  arms,  dressed  in  costumes  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  and  mounted  on  chariots,  who  announced  by 
torchlight  the  exact  figures. 

The  French  government  could  hesitate  no  longer. 
It  had  a  right  to  respond  at  once  to  the  annexation 
of  Tuscany  to  Piedmont  by  that  of  Savoy  and  Nice 
to  France.  The  thing  was  irrevocably  determined 
on  before  the  treaty  was  signed. 

March  21,  the  Emperor  received  at  the  Tuileries 
a  deputation  from  the  provincial  and  municipal 
counsellors  of  Savoy,  who  presented  the  addresses  of 
their  fellow-citizens.  Replying  to  these,  Napoleon 
III.  remarked  :  "  It  is  neither  by  conquest  nor  by 
insurrection  that  Savoy  and  Nice  will  be  reunited 
to  France,  but  by  the  free  consent  of  the  legitimate 
sovereign,  supported  by  popular  adhesion.  .  .  .  My 
affection  for  Switzerland  made  me  think  it  possible 

80 


THE  TREATY  OF  TURIN  81 

to  detach  certain  portions  of  Savoy  in  favor  of  the 
Confederation ;  but  in  view  of  the  repulsion  mani- 
fested amongst  you  at  the  idea  of  dismembering  a 
country  which  in  coming  down  the  centuries  has 
been  able  to  create  a  glorious  individuality  for  itself 
and  thus  obtain  a  national  history,  it  is  natural  to 
declare  that  I  will  not  constrain  the  wishes  of  its 
people  in  favor  of  others." 

The  very  day  before  he  made  this  speech  the 
Emperor  had  sent  to  Turin  M.  Benedetti,  director 
of  the  political  department  of  the  Ministry  of  For- 
eign Affairs.  M.  Benedetti,  who  was  to  act  with 
Baron  de  Talleyrand  as  second  plenipotentiary,  was 
instructed  to  refuse  all  discussion,  all  adjournment, 
and  not  to  return  to  Paris  without  having  signed 
the  treaty. 

Count  Cavour  was  still  under  some  illusions. 
Duped  by  England,  he  hoped  that  Victor  Emmanuel 
could  at  least  retain  Nice,  if  not  Savoy.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  Helvetian  Confederacy  put  forward 
its  claim  for  an  augmentation  of  territory,  demand- 
ing two  regions  which  form  part  of  Savoy,  the 
Chablais,  whose  chief  town  is  Thonon,  and  Fau- 
cigny,  whose  capital  is  Bonneville.  Under  pretext 
that  these  two  countries  had  been  neutralized  in 
1815,  they  put  in  a  claim  for  them,  alleging  that 
their  occupation  by  France  would  be  dangerous  to 
Switzerland.  England  furiously  sustained  this  the- 
ory, and  made  desperate  efforts  in  its  favor.  It 
entreated   the   powers   to  lend  it   their  support  in 


82  NAPOLEON  III 


this  instance,  and  thought  it  had  succeeded  in  in- 
ducing the  court  of  Turin  to  do  so. 

M.  Benedetti  was  instructed  to  tell  Count  Cavour 
that  England  was  disturbing  itself  in  vain,  and  that 
the  intentions  of  France  would  not  be  changed.  I 
was  at  that  time  a  humble  subordinate  of  the  director 
of  political  affairs,  and  I  remember  that  among  the 
documents  he  took  with  him  to  Turin  figured  a  very 
long  memorandum  in  which  I  had  summarized  the 
historic  precedents  of  the  Savoy  question.  It  is  one 
of  the  most  agreeable  reminiscences  of  my  modest 
career. 

Cavour  understood  that  all  resistance  would  be 
futile.  They  might  take  it  or  leave  it.  Their  only 
choice  lay  between  these  two  contingencies  :  either 
to  sign  the  treaty,  including  Nice,  the  Chablais,  and 
Faucigny  in  the  territories  ceded,  or  to  quarrel  with 
France.  They  knew  England  too  well  not  to  be 
convinced  that  in  the  latter  hypothesis  no  serious 
assistance  to  Piedmont  was  to  be  expected  from  that 
quarter.     Hence  no  hesitation  was  possible. 

March  24,  at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  at 
Turin,  in  the  cabinet  of  the  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  on  the  Place  du  Chateau,  the  treaty  was 
signed  by  which  Victor  Emmanuel  ceded  to  Napo- 
leon III.  Savoy  and  the  territory  of  Nice.  The 
plenipotentiaries  for  France  were  Baron  de  Talley- 
rand, French  Minister  at  Turin,  and  M.  Benedetti ; 
for  Sardinia,  Count  Cavour  and  M.  Farini,  Minister 
of  the  Interior. 


THE  TREATY  OF  TURIN  83 

An  eye-witness  of  this  great  diplomatic  scene  shall 
describe  it,  the  Comte  dTdeville  :    "  M.  de  Talley- 
rand," he   says,  "had  taken  me  with  him  to  read 
the    secret    memorandum    and   the    minute    of   the 
treaty  intended  for  the  Sardinian  government,  while 
M.  Arton,  then    Count  Cavour's   secretary,  did   as 
much    for    the    instrument    intended    for    France. 
MM.   de    Talleyrand,  Benedetti,  and  Farini  sat  in 
the   little   greenroom   in   the   angle   of    the   palace 
usually  occupied  by  M.  de  Cavour.     The  latter  was 
walking  up  and  down,  his  hands  in  his  pockets,  and 
his  head  bent.     I  never  saw  him  so  preoccupied,  so 
silent ;  his  imperturbable  gayety,  his  proverbial  look 
of  good  nature,  had  abandoned  him.     At  this  serious 
moment,  when  a  stroke  of   the  pen  was   about   to 
deprive  his  royal  master   of   two  provinces,  one  of 
which  was  the  cradle  of  the  House  of  Savoy,  it  was 
easy  to  comprehend  the  concentration  of  mind,  even 
the  sadness,  of  the  great  minister. 

"  After  the  reading  of  the  treaty  and  the  memo- 
randum, Count  Cavour  took  the  pen  and  signed  both 
instruments  with  a  steady  hand.  His  countenance 
cleared  up  at  once,  and  his  habitual  smile  came  back 
to  his  lips.  He  went  up  to  M.  de  Talleyrand,  rub- 
bing his  hands  in  his  usual  fashion,  and  whispered 
in  his  ear  :  '  Now  we  are  accomplices,  Baron.  Isn't 
that  so ? '" 

The  treaty  stipulated  that  the  inhabitants  should 
be  consulted,  that  the  neutralization  of  the  Chablais 
and  Faucigny  should   be  maintained,  and  that  the 


84  NAPOLEON  III 


people  of  the  ceded  provinces  should  have  a  year  in 
which  to  decide  between  the  Sardinian  nationality 
and  that  of  France. 

On  that  day,  as  soon  as  the  telegraph  had  apprised 
him  of  the  signing  of  the  treaty,  Napoleon  III. 
addressed  the  following  billet  to  his  minister  :  — 

"My  dear  M.  Thouvenel  :  I  am  very  glad  to 
be  able  to  thank  you  for  the  result  obtained,  and  to 
attribute  all  the  merit  of  it  to  your  ability. 

"  Believe  in  my  sincere  friendship, 

"Napoleon." 

Faithful  interpreters  of  the  instructions  they  had 
received,  the  French  plenipotentiaries  acquitted  them- 
selves of  their  task  with  equal  energy  and  celerity. 
Appreciating  the  assistance  given  him  by  his  col- 
league, Baron  de  Talleyrand  wrote  to  M.  Thouve- 
nel March  30 :  "  M.  Benedetti  leaves  this  evening 
for  Paris.  The  results  obtained  speak  loud  enough 
to  make  it  unnecessary  to  lay  stress  on  the  influence 
exerted  by  the  language,  the  cleverness,  the  prudence, 
and  the  truly  diplomatic  tact  he  has  employed  on 
this  serious  occasion.  Count  Cavour  and  M.  Farini 
will,  I  doubt  not,  retain  the  greatest  esteem  and 
highest  opinion  of  the  character  of  the  Emperor's 
plenipotentiary." 

The  news  of  the  treaty  caused  profound  joy 
throughout  France.  The  detractors  of  the  war  of 
Italy  ceased  their  criticisms.  Even  the  Revue  des 
Deux-Mondes,   which    by   the    pen   of    M.    Eugene 


THE  TREATY  OF  TURIN  85 

Forcade  had  censured  the  government  for  desiring 
the  annexation,  now  permitted  the  same  writer  to 
become  the  enthusiastic  defender  of  the  enterprise. 
In  a  word,  the  treaty  of  Turin  was  a  great  national 
triumph.  May  the  day  come  when  France  shall 
sign  other  treaties  equally  glorious  ! 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE   VOTE   OF   THE  POPULATIONS 

n^HE  annexation  of  Nice  and  Savoy  was  all  the 
-^  more  agreeable  to  the  Emperor  for  being  not 
a  conquest,  but  a  realization  of  two  of  his  favorite 
doctrines :  the  principle  of  nationalities,  and  the 
right  of  peoples  to  dispose  of  their  own  destiny. 

The  first  article  of  the  treaty  of  Turin  stipulated 
that  the  reunion  should  be  effected  without  putting 
any  constraint  upon  the  will  of  the  inhabitants,  and 
that  the  two  governments  should  as  soon  as  possible 
arrive  at  an  agreement  on  the  best  means  of  estimating 
and  making  known  the  manifestations  of  that  will. 

In  consequence  it  was  decided  that  a  plebiscite 
should  take  place  in  the  territory  of  Nice  April  15, 
while  in  Savoy  the  complete  melting  of  the  snows 
should  be  waited  for,  the  22d  of  the  same  month. 

The  Sardinian  government  preserved  an  abso- 
lutely loyal  attitude  in  these  circumstances.  Before 
the  voting,  Victor  Emmanuel  addressed  a  noble  and 
affecting  proclamation  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  two 
provinces.  He  said  :  "  In  spite  of  the  pain  of 
separating  from  you,  I  was  obliged  to  consider  that 
the  territorial  changes   occasioned   in   Italy  by  the 

86 


THE   VOTE  OF  THE  POPULATIONS  87 

war  justified  the  demand  of  my  august  ally,  the 
Emperor  Napoleon,  for  your  reunion  to  France. 
Also  I  was  obliged  to  take  into  account  the  im- 
mense services  which  France  has  rendered  Italy. 
Moreover,  I  could  not  but  admit  that  the  rapidity 
and  facility  of  communications  are  every  day  in- 
creasing the  number  and  importance  of  the  relations 
of  Savoy  and  Nice  with  France.  Nor  could  I 
forget  that  great  affinities  of  race,  language,  and 
customs  render  these  relations  still  more  close  and 
natural.  Nevertheless,  such  a  change  in  the  des- 
tinies of  these  provinces  could  not  be  imposed  upon 
you  ;  it  must  be  the  result  of  your  free  consent." 
The  King  ended  his  proclamation  by  these  words, 
which  the  two  Latin  nations  ought  never  to  forget :  — 

"If  you  are  to  follow  other  destinies,  do  it  in 
such  a  manner  that  the  French  shall  receive  you  as 
brothers  whom  they  have  long  esteemed  and  loved. 
Act  so  that  your  union  with  France  shall  be  an 
additional  link  between  two  nations  whose  mission 
it  is  to  pursue  in  unison  the  development  of 
civilization." 

Garibaldi,  a  native  of  Nice,  was  exasperated  by 
the  idea  that  this  city  should  cease  to  be  Italian. 
He  wanted  to  go  there  and  stir  up  an  anti-French 
disturbance,  and  only  the  urgent  insistence  of  the 
King  induced  him  to  give  up  the  project. 

France  had  not  to  intervene  in  the  actual  opera- 
tions of  the  voting,  but  simply  to  make  sure  that  it 
was   carried    out    in   freedom    and   sincerity.      For 


88  NAPOLEON  III 


that  purpose  she  sent,  in  a  semi-official  capacity, 
two  commissioners,  both  senators  of  the  Empire  and 
confidential  agents  of  the  Emperor.  They  were 
M.  Laity  and  M.  Pietri,  the  first  of  whom  went  to 
Chambery,  the  other  to  Nice.  They  abstained  from 
all  pressure,  contenting  themselves  with  winning 
the  people  by  graciousness  and  by  promises  of 
future  improvements,  all  of  which  were  afterward 
carried  out.  The  result  at  Nice,  where  the  policing 
of  the  city  had  been  intrusted  to  Sardinian  car- 
bineers and  the  electoral  lists  and  the  operations 
of  the  vote  regulated  by  the  King  ;  where  the 
people  went  to  the  voting  by  parishes,  the  cures, 
officials  of  the  quarter  and  notables  at  their  head ; 
was  that  out  of  the  6821  votes  cast  only  11  were 
against  the  annexation. 

In  the  whole  county  of  Nice,  but  25,993  out  of 
the  30,712  electors  inscribed  presented  themselves 
at  the  polls  ;  25,743  voted  for  annexation  to  France, 
and  but  160  against  it.  This  result  did  not  include 
the  vote  of  2500  Nicene  soldiers  then  in  the  army. 
For  these  the  result  was  1200  ayes  against  186  noes. 

The  22d  of  April  was  election  day  for  Savoy. 
Chambery  made  it  a  holiday.  The  city,  guarded 
only  by  the  militia,  was  hung  with  flags.  The  in- 
habitants assembled  by  wards,  and  the  corporations 
formed  in  companies  to  cast  their  votes.  The  reli- 
gious orders  and  the  magistrates  presented  them- 
selves in  a  body.  After  High  Mass,  the  archbishop 
came  to  vote  in  state,  followed  by  all  his  chapter. 


THE   VOTE  OF  THE  POPULATIONS  89 

Universal  enthusiasm  was  displayed.  Similar  mani- 
festations occurred  at  Annecy. 

The  final  results  of  the  election  in  Savoy  were 
proclaimed  by  the  Court  of  Appeals  of  Chambery 
amidst  the  applause  of  the  crowds  :  names  inscribed, 
135,449 ;  voting,  130,839  ;  ayes,  130,533  ;  noes,  235  ; 
not  valid,  71 ;  not  voted,  4610.  This  did  not  com- 
prise the  vote  of  the  Savoyard  soldiers  in  the  army. 
The  result  for  them,  including  the  famous  Savoy 
brigade,  was  :  ayes,  5847  ;  noes,  290  ;  not  valid,  26. 
No  popular  vote  had  ever  given  such  a  majority.  It 
was  a  brilliant  triumph  for  France. 

The  ratification  of  the  treaty  by  the  Sardinian 
parliament  took  place  a  month  later.  Cavour  de- 
livered one  of  his  most  remarkable  speeches  on  the 
occasion  at  the  Chamber  of  Deputies.  He  rendered 
formal  homage  to  Napoleon  III.  "  If  we  should 
change  alliances,"  said  he,  "  if  we  should  become 
guilty  of  that  black  ingratitude  toward  France,  we 
would  commit  not  merely  the  most  shameful  but 
the  most  imprudent  action  in  our  power."  After  a 
debate  which  lasted  six  days  and  ended  May  29,  the 
vote  was  as  follows :  present,  285  ;  voting,  262 ; 
for  the  treaty,  229 ;  against,  33.  Twenty-three  depu- 
ties, M.  Rattazzi  among  them,  abstained  from  voting. 

The  vote  of  the  Senate  was  cast  June  10.  Out  of 
102  voters,  92  declared  for  the  treaty  and  10  against 
it. 

A  few  days  afterward,  Victor  Emmanuel  reviewed 
for  the  last  time  the  Savoy  brigade,  so  justly  cele- 


90  NAPOLEON  III 


brated  for  its  bravery.  It  contained  veterans  who 
in  1849  had  been  his  companions  in  arms  at  the 
battles  of  Milan  and  Novara.  Many  of  them  shed 
tears. 

Options  for  Sardinian  nationality  were  very  rare. 
General  de  Sonnaz  and  the  Comte  de  Barral  re- 
mained loyal  to  Sardinia.  But  the  majority  of  the 
notables  of  Savoy  elected  for  that  of  France.  Such, 
among  others,  were  General  Mollard,  the  Comte  de 
Sales,  the  Marquise  d'Arvillars,  grand-mistress  of 
the  household  of  the  defunct  Queen,  the  Comte  de 
Maugny,  the  Comtes  de  Foras,  and  the  Marquis 
Costa  de  Beauregard,  whose  son,  one  of  the  eminent 
memBers  of  the  Academie  Franchise,  could  not  sit 
under  the  cupola  but  for  the  annexation. 

All  was  consummated.  The  English  intrigues 
had  definitively  failed.  The  apogee  of  the  Second 
Empire  had  been  attained. 

Napoleon  had  at  this  time  the  idea  of  creating 
M.  Thouvenel  a  duke  and  presenting  him  with  a 
mansion.  The  great  minister,  who  died  without  a 
fortune,  refused.  All  he  would  accept  was  the 
broad  ribbon  of  the  Legion  of  Honor.  But,  by 
derogation  from  the  rule  which  provides  that  no 
motive  shall  be  alleged  for  any  nomination  to  a  pro- 
motion in  the  order,  that  which  raised  M.  Thouvenel 
to  the  dignity  of  the  grand  cross,  stated  that  it  was 
given  him  by  the  Emperor  on  occasion  of  the  annex- 
ation of  Savoy  and  Nice  to  France. 


CHAPTER  XV 

VICTOR   EMMANUEL 

/^vN  March  14,  1860,  Victor  Emmanuel  entered 
^-^  upon  his  forty-first  year.  He  had  just  passed 
his  nineteenth  birthday  when  he  ascended  the  throne 
after  the  disaster  of  Novara,  March  23,  1849,  in 
consequence  of  the  abdication  of  his  father,  King 
Charles  Albert,  who  fell,  arms  in  hand,  and  died  in 
voluntary  exile  at  Oporto,  in  Portugal. 

Victor  Emmanuel  was  not  handsome.  One  might 
even  say  that  he  was  ugly.  But  there  was  some- 
thing strange  and  imposing  about  his  ugliness.  His 
prominent  blue  eyes,  his  snub  nose,  his  overlong 
mustachios  twisted  upward  to  a  point,  gave  his 
countenance  a  singular  character  of  audacity  and 
resolution.  He  was  above  middle  height.  He  held 
his  head  up  proudly.  His  whole  person  breathed 
energy  and  courage. 

The  great  sculptor  Marochetti  said,  after  finish- 
ing the  statue  of  Charles  Albert :  "  I  would  greatly 
have  preferred  to  execute  a  statue  of  King  Victor 
Emmanuel.  Our  sovereign  is  assuredly  not  hand- 
some, but  one  could  make  a  striking  and  original 
work  with  him  as  model ;  there  is  a  certain  savagery, 

91 


92  NAPOLEON  III 


a  picturesqueness  about  him  which  does  not  lack 
grandeur.  He  reminds  one  of  a  king  of  the  Huns 
or  a  barbaric  chieftain.  He  is  fine  on  horseback, 
and  I  feel  certain  that  taking  advantage  of  that  fact 
one  could  achieve  an  interesting  statue." 

In  mind,  Victor  Emmanuel  was  as  strange  as  in 
body.  His  essentially  complex  character,  full  of 
contradictions  and  contrasts,  would  be  a  very  curi- 
ous study  for  psychologists.  A  mixture  of  peasant 
and  gentleman,  libertine  and  devotee,  soldier  and 
king,  his  instincts  were  democratic  and  aristocratic 
by  turns.  At  times  he  seemed  a  trooper  or  a  coun- 
try clown,  and  again  a  statesman  of  the  first  order, 
the  glorious  head  of  one  of  the  most  ancient  and 
illustrious  dynasties  of  the  world.  Under  an  un- 
diplomatic exterior  he  concealed  an  extreme  cunning. 
In  political  matters  he  had  a  truly  extraordinary 
insight.  No  one  understood  better  than  he  how  to 
turn  a  corner  or  profit  by  a  difficult  situation.  This 
finished  model  of  a  soldier  was  a  consummate  diplo- 
matist, a  true  disciple  of  Machiavelli. 

Intrepid  and  indefatigable,  Victor  Emmanuel  was 
incessantly  pursuing  his  object,  even  at  times  when 
one  would  have  thought  him  most  unconcerned  with 
politics.  He  was  possessed  by  a  fixed  idea  :  Italian 
unity.  Beaten  at  Novara,  he  determined  to  take 
reprisals  at  all  costs  for  this  Waterloo  of  the  Pied- 
montese.  He  swore  to  avenge  his  father,  the  martyr 
of  the  Italian  idea.  "  I  ascended  the  throne  after 
great  disasters,"  he  said  in  one  of  his  manifestoes. 


VICTOR   EMMANUEL  93 


"  My  father  set  me  a  fine  example  in  resigning  the 
crown  to  save  the  dignity  and  liberty  of  his  subjects. 
His  death  has  linked  the  destinies  of  my  family  still 
more  closely  to  those  of  the  Italian  people,  who  for 
many  centuries  have  left  the  ashes  of  their  exiles 
in  all  foreign  lands  as  a  title  to  claim  the  heritage  of 
each  of  the  nations  which  God  has  placed  on  their 
frontiers,  and  which  speak  the  same  language.  I 
have  followed  that  example,  and  the  memory  of  my 
father  has  been  my  guiding  star."  In  raising  the 
Italian  tricolor,  the  son  of  Charles  Albert  believed 
himself  to  be  performing  an  act  of  filial  piety.  Like 
all  men  who  accomplish  difficult  and  extraordinary 
tasks,  he  was  impassioned  with  his  work,  devoting 
himself  body  and  soul  to  it,  without  a  moment's  weak- 
ness or  discouragement,  and  with  an  ardor  and  vehe- 
mence which  knew  no  obstacles.  He  would  have  given 
his  last  drop  of  blood  for  the  success  of  the  cause 
whose  champion  he  had  made  himself. 

At  Palestro  he  was  admired  by  all  the  zouaves, 
good  judges  where  courage  is  concerned,  and  proud 
of  such  a  companion  in  arms.  Passionately  fond  of 
war  and  the  chase,  he  preferred  a  tent  to  gilded  cano- 
pies, and  the  scent  of  powder  to  all  other  perfumes. 
To  console  himself  for  the  impossibility  of  fighting, 
he  would  go  into  the  mountains  for  several  days, 
sometimes  for  weeks,  to  hunt  the  chamois,  unat- 
tended save  by  two  aides-de-camp.  Wearing  a 
blouse,  rifle  in  hand,  eating  dry  bread  and  raw 
onions  like  the  peasants,  he  clambered  over  rocks 


94  NAPOLEON  III 


and  precipices,  outstripped  the  best  walkers,  the 
most  skilful  marksmen,  and  came  back  to  Turin 
alert  and  cheerful,  while  his  unlucky  aides-de-camp, 
who  had  found  it  hard  work  to  follow  him,  returned 
ill  or  worn  out  with  fatigue. 

For  this  Nimrod  war  was  the  greatest  of  all  hunts. 
He  lived  in  it  as  his  native  element.  On  the  day- 
after  a  battle  he  knew  no  such  sentiment  of  gloom 
and  melancholy  as  took  possession  of  the  affectionate 
heart  of  Napoleon  III.  Fighting  was  his  favorite 
pastime.  In  1859,  he  had  looked  forward  to  long 
and  bitter  hostilities,  and  the  treaty  of  Villafranca 
was  a  cruel  disappointment  to  him,  chiefly  because  it 
obliged  him  to  put  his  sword  back  into  its  scabbard. 
Yet  his  keen  political  instinct  made  him  recognize 
that  peace  was  then  necessary  ;  and,  more  cautious 
than  Cavour,  as  opposed  to  whom  he  was  often  in 
the  right,  he  took  good  care  to  make  no  recrimina- 
tions against  Napoleon  III.,  whose  aid  was  still  indis- 
pensable to  him.  He  believed,  moreover,  —  and  it 
was  this  that  consoled  him,  —  that  fighting  would 
soon  break  out  again.  April  12,  he  said  to  Baron  de 
Talleyrand,  Minister  of  France  at  Turin,  "  I  fore- 
see that  we  shall  be  engaged  in  a  general  war  within 
a  year,  and  I  hope  the  Emperor  will  not  then  forget 
his  ally." 

Victor  Emmanuel  was  ambitious,  but  what  he 
loved  in  power  was  neither  luxury  nor  riches ;  he 
had  a  horror  of  public  display,  and  submitted  only 
with  great  reluctance,  and  a  weariness  he  did  not  try 


VICTOR   EMMANUEL  95 

to  disguise,  to  the  requirements  of  etiquette.  Ac- 
cording to  the  Corate  dTdeville,  when  he  was 
obliged  to  be  present  at  a  great  court  dinner,  he 
neither  unfolded  his  napkin  nor  touched  a  single 
dish.  Resting  his  hands  on  the  pommel  of  his 
sword,  he  studied  his  guests  without  troubling  him- 
self to  conceal  his  impatience.  He  seldom  lived  in 
his  Turin  palace,  preferring  to  reside  at  Mandria, 
a  hunting-meet  in  the  woods,  three-quarters  of  a 
league  from  the  capital,  where  he  lived  the  life  of 
a  private  individual,  far  from  the  indiscreet  and 
importunate,  and  without  either  amusement  or 
luxury.  For  himself  he  had  no  need  of  money. 
Sober,  eating  only  once  a  day,  but  then  abundantly, 
he  preferred  the  ordinary  food  of  the  people  to 
skilled  cookery.  His  passion  for  women  apart, 
his  habits  and  tastes  were  those  of  an  anchorite. 

If  he  had  consulted  only  his  personal  conven- 
ience, Victor  Emmanuel  would  never  have  enter- 
tained the  idea  of  exchanging  his  kingdom  of 
Piedmont  for  that  of  Italy.  A  Piedmontese  at 
heart,  he  greatly  preferred  his  native  land  to  any 
other.  Neither  the  Royal  Palace  of  Naples  nor 
the  Quirinal  of  Rome  had  any  attraction  for  him. 
When  he  quitted  Piedmont,  he  felt  himself  an 
exile. 

The  audacious  sovereign  triumphed,  but  there 
were  moments  when  he  regretted  his  triumphs. 
His  conscience  now  and  again  reproached  him,  and 
a  silent  struggle  went  on  within  his  soul.     On  one 


96  NAPOLEON  III 


hand,  he  was  glad  to  have  favored  the  national 
aspirations  of  Italy,  avenged  Novara,  freed  Milan, 
and  destroyed  Austrian  influence  in  Tuscany,  Parma, 
Modena,  and  the  Legations.  On  the  other  hand,  as 
a  monarch  by  divine  right,  he  suffered  for  having 
come  to  terms  with  the  revolution  ;  and  as  the  head 
of  one  of  the  most  illustrious  families  for  having 
despoiled  a  widow  and  an  orphan, — the  Duchess 
of  Parma  and  her  young  son,  —  and  taken  their 
States  from  near  relatives  like  the  Grand  Duke  of 
Tuscany  and  the  Duke  of  Modena.  But  he  suffered 
much  more  from  having  engaged  in  a  struggle 
with  the  Pope.  He  who  counted  not  merely  heroes 
but  men  and  women  saints  among  his  ancestors ; 
who  retained  the  convictions  of  a  Catholic  even 
while  giving  bad  examples  in  his  private  life  ;  who 
had  never  trembled  before  balls  and  bombs,  but  who 
turned  pale  at  the  thought  of  an  excommunication, 
was  profoundly  moved  by  the  complaints  of  the 
Holy  Father.  All  his  efforts  to  pacify  the  anger 
of  Pius  IX.  were  fruitless. 

February  6,  he  had  written  to  the  Sovereign 
Pontiff  :  "  A  devoted  son  of  the  Church,  descended 
from  a  very  pious  race,  as  your  Holiness  very  well 
knows,  I  have  always  cherished  sentiments  of  sin- 
cere attachment,  veneration,  and  respect  toward  the 
Church  and  its  august  head.  It  never  has  been, 
nor  is  it  now  in  my  intention  to  fail  in  my  duties 
as  a  Catholic  prince,  or  to  diminish,  so  far  as  it 
depends  on  me,  the  rights  and  the  authority  which 


VICTOR  EMMANUEL  97 

the  Holy  See  exercises  on  earth  in  virtue  of  the 
mandate  of  Heaven." 

But  after  these  expressions  of  devotion,  the  King 
concluded  as  follows,  and  the  Pope  had  been  very 
indignant  about  it :  "  If,  taking  into  consideration 
the  necessities  of  the  age,  the  growing  strength  of 
the  principle  of  nationalities,  the  irresistible  vehe- 
mence by  which  peoples  are  impelled  to  unite  and 
organize  themselves  in  conformity  to  the  rules 
adopted  by  all  civilized  countries,  your  Holiness 
thought  he  might  have  to  claim  my  frank  and  loyal 
assistance,  there  would  be  a  means  of  establishing, 
not  merely  in  the  Romagna,  but  in  the  Marches  and 
in  Umbria,  a  state  of  things  which,  while  preserving 
its  supreme  power  to  the  Church,  and  to  the  Pope  a 
glorious  role  at  the  head  of  the  Italian  nation,  would 
make  the  people  of  these  provinces  share  in  the 
benefits  which  a  strong  and  truly  national  monarchy 
would  secure  to  the  greater  part  of  central  Italy. 
I  hope  that  your  Holiness  will  deign  to  take  into 
consideration  these  reflections,  dictated  by  a  heart 
sincere  and  wholly  devoted  to  his  person,  and  with 
his  customary  kindness  will  grant  me  his  sacred 
benediction." 

This  letter  exasperated  the  Pope.  On  February 
14,  he  gave  it  this  crushing  answer  :  "  Sire,  the 
idea  which  your  Majesty  intended  to  convey  to  me 
is  an  imprudent  idea,  and  one  which  is  certainly 
unworthy  of  a  Catholic  king  and  a  king  of  the 
House  of  Savoy.  ...     I   am  deeply  grieved,   not 


98  NAPOLEON  III 


for  myself,  but  for  the  unhappy  condition  of  your 
Majesty's  soul;  for  it  is  already  under  censures,  and 
others  will  follow  when  you  have  accomplished  the 
sacrilegious  act  which  you  and  yours  intend  to 
accomplish.  I  pray  the  Lord  from  the  bottom  of 
my  heart  that  He  will  enlighten  and  give  you  the 
grace  to  know  and  lament  the  scandals  which  have 
occurred,  and  the  frightful  evils  which,  with  your 
cooperation,  have  stricken  poor  Italy." 

An  unbeliever  might  have  received  this  letter 
with  indifference,  but  it  profoundly  troubled  Victor 
Emmanuel,  who  was  a  believer.  This  intrepid  man 
feared  but  one  thing  —  hell.  Those  who  knew  him 
best  agree  in  saying  that  he  ended  his  days,  like  his 
father  before  him,  in  great  piety.  He  had  a  presenti- 
ment that  Rome  would  be  fatal  to  him,  and  that  if 
ever  he  set  foot  there  he  would  die  without  great 
delay.  Of  all  the  sovereigns,  it  was  he  who  most 
wronged  the  Papacy  ;  and  yet,  of  all  the  sovereigns, 
it  was  he  for  whom  the  Papacy  had  the  greatest 
prestige. 


CHAPTER   XVI 

COUNT   CAVOTJR 

TTTHEN  Count  Cavour  handed  in  his  resignation 
the  day  after  the  peace  of  Villafranca,  the 
Turinese  said,  "  He  is  going,  but  with  a  return 
ticket  in  his  pocket." 

January  20,  1860,  the  great  minister  returned  to 
power.  He  would  be  fifty  years  old  on  the  follow- 
ing 10th  of  August,  and  was  at  the  climax  of  his 
force  and  talent.  As  if  he  foresaw  that  his  life  would 
be  short  (it  was  to  end  in  1860),  he  continued  his 
work  with  feverish  haste.  Scorning  patience  and 
tedious  delays,  he  marched  toward  his  goal  with 
incredible  audacity.  The  diplomatist  in  him  gave 
place  to  the  man  of  action,  to  the  conspirator 
resolved  on  employing  violent  measures,  and  con- 
sidering international  stipulations  and  diplomatic 
agreements  as  empty  impediments.  To  substitute 
the  new  right  of  revolution  for  the  old  law  of 
nations,  and  to  cover  it  under  the  cloak  of  mon- 
archy, was  thenceforward  his  programme. 

Joseph  de  Maistre  has  said,  "  The  Revolution 
leads  men  more  than  they  lead  it."  It  was  by  the 
Revolution   that   Napoleon  III.,  Victor  Emmanuel, 

99 


100  NAPOLEON  III 


and  Count  Cavour  were  led.  Not  one  of  the  three 
suspected  at  the  beginning  of  1860  that  before  the 
year  was  out  Piedmont  would  be  master  of  the 
Marches,  Umbria,  and  the  Sicilies.  M.  Thouvenel 
wrote  to  the  Due  de  Gramont,  March  3  :  "If  the 
Pope  and  the  King  of  Naples  understood  their  own 
interests,  they  would  see  that  on  one  capital  point 
those  interests  are  identical  with  ours.  Italian  unity 
displeases  us  as  much  as  it  does  them."  The  Em- 
peror was  not  more  anxious  for  that  unity  than 
his  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs.  As  to  Count 
Cavour  and  his  sovereign,  they  did  not  believe  it 
possible  as  yet.  They  simply  profited  by  circum- 
stances they  did  not  create. 

Cavour  had  in  the  first  place  but  one  object :  the 
incorporation  of  central  Italy  into  the  Piedmontese 
monarchy.  On  resuming  power,  he  had  this  sentence 
published  in  the  Opinione,  a  semi-official  organ, 
"The  first  Cavour  ministry  meant  independence, 
the  second  means  annexation."  But  in  the  mind  of 
the  minister,  annexation  applied  only  to  Tuscany, 
Parma,  Modena,  and  the  Romagna.  As  yet  he  could 
not  imagine  that  Europe  would  allow  him  to  go 
further  still,  and  he  was  the  first  to  be  surprised  by 
the  inertness  of  the  great  powers.  But  when  he  saw 
that  they  were  ready  to  tolerate  all  audacities,  he 
threw  aside  the  mask  and  got  rid  of  all  his  scruples. 
The  apathy,  impotence,  feebleness  of  diplomacy,  the 
passivity  of  the  so-called  European  concert,  were 
cards  which  he  played  with  extreme  dexterity.     He 


COUNT  CAVOUR  101 


excelled  in  the  art  of  modifying  his  plans  to  meet 
emergencies,  and  of  deriving  the  greatest  possible 
profit  from  every  situation. 

"The  Italians,"  M.  de  La  Gorce  has  said,  "had 
come  to  the  point  of  creating  a  conscience  of  their 
own  for  the  affairs  of  their  country.  As  many 
treaties  had  formerly  been  made  without  consulting 
them,  they  decided  that  they  were  not  bound  by 
any.  Everything  in  Italy  which  did  not  belong  to  the 
Piedmontese  aggregation,  seemed  to  them  unjustly 
withdrawn  from  the  national  patrimony. "  On  opening 
the  Parliament,  April  2,  Victor  Emmanuel  expressed 
himself  as  follows  :  "  Italy  is  no  longer  the  Italy 
of  the  Romans,  or  the  Italy  of  the  Middle  Ages  ;  nor 
ought  she  any  longer  to  be  a  field  open  to  foreign 
greed,  but  to  be  the  Italy  of  the  Italians." 

Such  was  the  bold  policy  of  which  Cavour  was 
the  ardent  and  zealous  interpreter.  His  activity 
was  devouring,  his  ability  for  work  prodigious. 
Writing,  reading,  meditating  nearly  all  night  long, 
he  yet  rose  every  morning  at  five  o'clock  in  winter 
and  summer.  Relying  on  his  iron  constitution,  he 
went  too  far.  When  he  had  a  congestion,  bleeding 
and  a  day  and  night  spent  at  his  farm  of  Leri 
sufficed  to  set  him  up  completely,  and  he  returned 
to  work  with  extraordinary  vigor.  Playing  the 
riskiest  of  games,  he  experienced  violent  emotions, 
which  finally  undermined  his  robust  health  and 
shortened  his  life.  His  hardihood  sometimes  amazed 
even  himself.     "  If  I  get  out  of  danger  this  time," 


UNIVERSITY  OF   OUFOFNTA 
SANTA  BARBARA  COLLEGE  LIBRARY 


102  NAPOLEON  III 


he  wrote  to  the  Comtesse  de  Circourt  in  1860,  "  I 
shall  try  to  manage  so  as  not  to  be  caught  in  it  again. 
I  am  like  the  sailor  who,  in  the  midst  of  a  howling 
tempest,  swears  and  makes  a  vow  never  more  to  go 
to  sea." 

It  has  been  asked  whether  Victor  Emmanuel  had 
a  real  affection  for  his  powerful  minister.  The 
Count  d'Ideville  has  written  :  "  The  King  is  lazy 
and  not  well  educated  ;  to  busy  himself  with  public 
affairs,  preside  at  the  Council,  make  decisions,  are  so 
many  tortures  to  him.  Hence  Count  Cavour  spares 
him  this  kind  of  occupation  as  often  as  he  can.  The 
King  feels  the  superiority  of  his  prime  master,  but 
has  never  forgiven  him  for  it ;  he  submits  to  it,  hat- 
ing him,  meanwhile,  from  the  bottom  of  his  heart." 
To  our  mind,  this  opinion  is  greatly  exaggerated. 
Victor  Emmanuel  did  not  hate  a  statesman  to  whom 
he  owed  so  much.  But  though  he  did  not  hate  him, 
his  liking  for  him  was  extremely  limited.  He  pre- 
ferred M.  Rattazzi,  because  M.  Rattazzi  had  a  defer- 
ence for  Rosina,  the  royal  favorite,  which  Cavour 
had  not. 

Rosina  was  the  daughter  of  one  of  the  palace 
guards,  a  company  bearing  some  resemblance  to  the 
Austrian  halberd-bearers  and  the  hundred-guards  of 
France.  Pretty  and  virtuous,  she  was  but  sixteen 
when  first  noticed  by  the  King.  He  had  two  chil- 
dren by  her,  whom  he  recognized  and  legitimated 
after  the  Queen's  death.  Along  with  an  endow- 
ment, the  mother  received  the  title  of  Countess  of 


COUNT  CAVOUR  103 


Mirafiore,  the  name  of  a  royal  farm  not  far  from 
Turin.  The  favorite  did  not  concern  herself  with 
politics,  and  led  a  very  retired  life.  She  seldom 
appeared  in  public,  and  was  scarcely  ever  seen  except 
in  the  proscenium  boxes  of  the  petty  theatres  of 
Turin.  However,  M.  Cavour  censured  the  liaison, 
and  would  never  have  any  relations  with  her,  and 
when  the  King,  through  religious  scruples,  showed 
a  disposition  to  contract  a  morganatic  marriage  with 
the  favorite,  Cavour  opposed  the  plan  so  strenuously 
that  Victor  Emmanuel  gave  it  up  for  the  moment. 
But  he  carried  it  into  effect  later  on,  and  in  the  latter 
years  of  his  life  figured  in  the  Almanach  de  Gotha  as 
"  married  morganatically  to  the  Countess  of  Mira- 
fiore," the  date  of  their  union  being  left  unmentioned. 
Upright,  disinterested,  generous,  charitable,  Count 
Cavour  was  neither  conceited  nor  proud.  He  gave 
to  agriculture  the  rare  moments  of  leisure  which  he 
could  spare  from  politics.  He  was  never  so  happy 
as  when  strolling  about  his  estates  with  the  peasants, 
in  sabots  and  clothes  like  their  own.  He  led  the 
simplest  of  lives  in  Turin.  Except  on  days  of  cere- 
mony, such  as  the  opening  of  the  session,  he  was 
never  seen  in  a  carriage.  Every  morning  he  passed 
on  foot  like  an  honest  citizen  under  the  porticos  of 
the  rue  du  Po,  affable,  familiar,  accessible  to  every 
one,  still  more  appreciated  by  the  humble  than  by 
the  great,  and  popular  in  the  best  acceptation  of  that 
term.  The  Turinese  had  absolute  confidence  in  him, 
and  called  him  Papa  Camillo. 


104  NAPOLEON  III 


On  his  side,  a  Piedmontese  at  heart,  Cavour  had  a 
passion  for  Turin,  his  native  city,  where  everybody 
knew  and  liked  him.  Like  the  King,  had  he  con- 
sulted his  tastes  and  personal  convenience  only,  he 
would  not  have  dreamed  of  modifying  the  character 
of  the  House  of  Savoy  and  exchanging  the  kingdom 
of  Piedmont  for  that  of  Italy.  His  farm  of  Leri 
seemed  to  him  preferable  to  the  most  splendid  palaces 
of  the  peninsula  ;  and  if  he  had  been  living  when 
Turin  ceased  to  be  a  capital,  this  declension  would 
have  made  him  suffer.  No  one  understood  better 
than  he  the  difficulty  of  solving  the  problems  raised 
by  the  Roman  question.  No  one  inwardly  realized 
more  fully  the  bitterness  that  lies  beneath  ambitions 
that  have  been  achieved.  Possibly  he  envied  more 
than  once,  in  the  midst  of  unhoped-for  triumphs,  the 
obscure  and  tranquil  life  of  a  simple  country  gentle- 
man. Like  his  master,  he  remained  a  Catholic  in 
spite  of  his  struggles  against  the  Church  ;  and  what 
he  regretted  most  was  his  inability  to  come  to  terms 
with  the  Pope. 


CHAPTER   XVII 

PIUS   NINTH 

r  I  ^HE  memory  of  Pius  IX.  will  last  forever.  To 
employ  the  expression  of  Bossuet,  "  Providence 
reserved  for  him  that  nameless  finish  which  misfor- 
tune adds  to  virtue."  He  was  the  victim  of  his 
kindness  and  his  generous  illusions,  and  like  Jesus 
Christ,  of  whom  he  was  the  worthy  Vicar,  he 
received  ingratitude  in  return  for  his  favors. 

Charles  Albert  and  Pius  IX.  may  be  considered  the 
martyrs  of  Italian  patriotism.  Both  were  punished 
for  their  devotion  to  the  national  aspirations  by  an 
exile  which  for  the  one  was  only  temporary,  but  for 
the  other  lasted  all  his  life.  It  left  most  painful 
memories  in  the  mind  of  the  Holy  Father,  who  was 
threatened  with  another  banishment  from  Rome. 
The  chief  promoter  of  the  great  movement  for  in- 
dependence, the  Sovereign  Pontiff  had  heard  the 
hosayinahs  succeeded  by  curses.  Clothed  in  the 
pomp  of  religious  ceremonies,  Pius  IX.  seemed  to 
grow  taller,  his  countenance  assumed  a  character  of 
supreme  majesty,  his  features  were  lighted  up  as  by 
a  divine  inspiration.  If  he  received  an  audience  of 
pilgrims,  or  made  a  speech  to  soldiers,  his  good  nature, 

105 


106  NAPOLEON  III 


his  frank  gayety,  his  pleasant  air,  gained  every  heart. 
Diplomacy,  with  its  subterfuges,  reserves,  and  equiv- 
ocations, seemed  to  him  a  wretched  science.  He  had 
a  horror  of  intrigue  and  a  passionate  love  of  truth. 

One  can  easily  comprehend  how  painful  it  was  for 
Napoleon  III.  to  dissatisfy  and  pain  the  Holy  Father. 
Their  relations  dated  from  a  remote  period.  M. 
Louis  Thouvenel  recounts  an  anecdote  concerning  this 
which  he  got  from  a  person  very  nearly  connected  with 
the  Italian  political  movement,  and  which  deserves 
to  be  remembered.  It  happened  in  1831.  Louis 
Napoleon  had  just  come  to  grief  in  the  insurrection 
of  the  Romagna,  where  his  brother  lost  his  life. 
Hunted  by  the  Austrian  troops,  and  in  danger  of 
being  run  through  if  he  fell  into  their  hands,  he 
wandered  about,  vainly  seeking  a  place  to  lay  his 
head.  Arriving  before  Spoleto,  of  which  city  Mon- 
seigneur  Mastai-Ferretti — the  future  Pius  IX. — 
was  then  archbishop,  the  proscript  remembered  that 
when  this  prelate  was  only  a  simple  canon  at  Rome, 
he  and  his  brother  had  often  served  his  Mass,  and 
been  very  kindly  treated  by  him.  It  occurred  to  the 
fugitive  to  ask  him  for  shelter.  The  dirty  face  and 
worse  than  shabby  costume  of  the  applicant  roused 
the  suspicions  of  the  servants,  and  it  was  with  diffi- 
culty that  he  got  entrance  to  the  house.  Monseigneur 
Mastai-Ferretti  received  the  son  of  Queen  Hortense 
very  kindly,  and  the  prince  having  confided  to  him  his 
absolute  destitution,  the  archbishop  borrowed  five 
thousand  francs  from  a  rich  manufacturer  of  the  city 


PIUS  NINTH  107 


and  gave  it  to  his  quondam  altar  boy,  now  metamor- 
phosed into  an  Italian  revolutionist.  Then,  putting 
him  into  his  own  carriage,  the  prelate  took  the  reins 
and  drove  him  to  a  place  of  safety,  where  he  would 
be  sheltered  alike  from  Austrian  bayonets  and  the 
pontifical  authorities.  Pope  Gregory  XVI.,  hear- 
ing of  the  incident,  summoned  Monseigneur  Mastai- 
Ferretti  to  Rome,  where  he  remained  for  some  time 
in  disgrace.  He  did  not,  in  fact,  receive  a  cardinal's 
hat  until  1840.  Could  a  grateful  heart  like  that  of 
Napoleon  III.  forget  such  a  service  ? 

When  the  insurgent  of  1831  became  President  of 
the  French  Republic,  he  maintained  good  relations 
with  the  former  Archbishop  of  Spoleto,  who  by  that 
time  was  Pope.  But  in  1849,  during  the  Roman  ex- 
pedition, his  youthful  tendencies  reappeared,  and  the 
famous  letter  to  Edgard  Ney  did  not  fail  to  cause 
anxiety  to  Pius  IX.  This  suspicion  was  soon  dis- 
pelled, and  throughout  the  earlier  years  of  the  reign 
of  Napoleon  III.  there  was  complete  understanding 
between  the  Tuileries  and  the  Vatican.  The  har- 
mony was,  for  that  matter,  quite  as  useful  to  the 
Empire  as  to  the  Papacy,  and  the  conservatives  of 
all  countries  were  grateful  to  the  French  sovereign 
for  being  the  champion  of  the  Holy  Father. 

From  the  beginning  of  the  war  of  Italy,  Pius  IX., 
in  spite  of  the  protestations  addressed  to  him  by 
the  imperial  government,  with  a  view  to  reassuring 
Catholics,  had  a  presentiment  that  this  harmony 
would  be  of  short  duration.     May  7,  1859,  when  the 


108  NAPOLEON  III 


Due  de  Gramont,  ambassador  of  France  at  Rome, 
presented  a  letter  from  the  Emperor,  assuring  him  of 
his  devotion,  the  Holy  Father  made  a  brief  acknowl- 
edgment to  the  ambassador,  and  then  added,  point- 
ing to  the  crucifix,  "  It  is  He  in  whom  I  trust." 

When  Austria  evacuated  the  Romagna  during  the 
war,  it  left  the  revolutionists  free  to  install  them- 
selves as  masters,  and  since  then  had  taken  no 
initiative  in  favor  of  the  pontifical  cause.  The 
courts  of  Madrid,  Lisbon,  Munich,  Brussels,  Rio 
Janeiro,  were  powerless.  Pius  IX.  had  nothing  to 
expect  from  diplomacy. 

Meanwhile  Victor  Emmanuel  himself,  before  he 
had  been  dragged  by  the  revolution  farther,  possibly, 
than  he  would  have  cared  to  go,  had  done  justice  to 
the  Pope.  Replying  to  the  delegate  from  Bologna, 
who  came  to  ask  for  the  annexation  of  the  Romagna 
to  Sardinia,  the  King  said  :  "  It  will  not  do  to  let 
Europe  accuse  me  of  acting  merely  through  personal 
ambition,  and  of  substituting  Piedmontese  absorp- 
tion for  Austrian  oppression.  The  Holy  Father, 
the  venerated  leader  of  the  faithful,  remains  at  the 
head  of  his  people.  He  is  not,  like  the  sovereigns 
of  Parma,  Modena,  and  Tuscany,  deprived  of  his 
temporal  authority,  which  we  ought  not  simply  to 
respect  but  to  consolidate.  Therefore  I  would  dis- 
approve of  any  subversive  act,  contrary  to  equity 
and  injurious  to  the  noble  cause  we  serve.  Let  us 
not  forget  that  Pius  IX.  is  an  Italian  prince." 

The    Pope   has   been   blamed    for   not   accepting 


PIUS  NINTH  109 


cordially  the  presidency  of  an  Italian  confederation. 
But  it  should  be  remembered  that  this  presidency 
was  to  be  merely  honorary,  and  that  Napoleon  III. 
wished  to  make  it  coincident  with  a  system  of  secu- 
larization whose  consequence  in  fact,  if  not  in  law, 
would  have  been  the  suppression  of  the  temporal 
power  not  only  in  Rome  but  throughout  the  States 
of  the  Church.  Pius  IX.  considered  this  presidency 
as  a  decoy,  a  snare.  He  would  not  accept  it  unless 
the  Romagna  were  previously  restored  ;  on  that  con- 
dition only  would  he  consent  to  be  represented  at 
a  congress. 

In  his  despatch  addressed  to  the  Papal  Nuncio 
at  Paris,  February  29,  Cardinal  Antonelli,  Secre- 
tary of  State,  expressed  himself  thus  :  "  The  Holy 
Father  cannot  consent  to  an  abdication  of  any  sort, 
and  he  never  can.  He  cannot,  because  his  States  are 
not  his  personal  property,  but  belong  to  the  Church  ; 
he  cannot  because  he  has  bound  himself  by  solemn 
oaths,  he  has  promised  God  to  transmit  them  intact 
to  his  successors  ;  he  cannot  on  account  of  the  scan- 
dal which  it  would  entail  to  the  detriment  of  the 
actually  dispossessed  Italian  princes  and  even  to  the 
detriment  of  all  Christian  princes."  Pius  IX.  con- 
sidered his  inflexibility  a  sacred  duty.  A  conces- 
sion of  any  sort  would  have  seemed  to  him  a  sacri- 
lege. Nothing  in  the  world  could  have  induced 
him  to  cede  voluntarily  a  single  village  of  the  pon- 
tifical patrimony.  He  would  have  died  rather  than 
violate  his  oath. 


110  NAPOLEON  III 


People  were  asking  for  reforms  ;  but  were  not  all 
the  partisans  of  Italian  unity  agreed  in  declaring 
that  no  reforms,  however  extensive,  would  induce 
them  to  give  up  their  plan  :  Italy  one  and  Rome  its 
capital  ?  Even  had  the  pontifical  government  been 
not  merely  the  most  paternal  but  the  most  liberal, 
most  enlightened,  wisest  government  in  the  world, 
the  revolution  never  would  have  spared  it.  The 
opposition  encountered  by  Pius  IX.  was  absolutely 
irreconcilable.  Each  concession  granted  by  the 
Sovereign  Pontiff  would  have  been  changed  into  a 
weapon  against  him.  Cardinal  Antonelli  wrote  in 
the  despatch  already  quoted,  "  If  it  were  still  possi- 
ble some  months  ago  to  delude  ourselves  as  to  the 
possibility  of  pacifying  certain  Italian  States  by  re- 
forms and  concessions,  such  an  illusion  has  become 
impossible  now  that  the  parties  have  openly  declared, 
as  they  did  in  the  memoir  of  the  so-called  govern- 
ment of  Bologna,  that  no  reform  can  satisfy  them 
which  stops  short  of  the  utter  destruction  of  the 
temporal  power."  No  agreement  could  be  reached. 
Both  parties  were  absolutely  unwilling  to  com- 
promise. 


CHAPTER   XVIII 

THE   DUC   DE   GRAMONT 

O  ELDOM  has  any  diplomatist  found  himself  in  a 
^  situation  more  difficult  than  that  of  the  Due 
de  Gramont,  ambassador  of  France  at  Rome.  The 
private  letters  exchanged  between  him  and  M. 
Thouvenel,  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  which  the 
son  of  the  latter  has  published,  show  what  the  duke 
had  to  suffer  in  a  post  apparently  enviable,  but  in 
reality  full  of  vexations  and  disappointment. 

The  beginnings  of  his  mission  were  both  easy  and 
agreeable.  Up  to  the  war  of  1859,  the  relations 
between  the  Tuileries  and  the  Vatican  left  nothing 
to  be  desired.  When  that  broke  out,  the  most  posi- 
tive assurances  were  given  to  the  Sovereign  Pontiff. 
M.  Baroche,  President  of  the  Council  of  State, 
declared  to  the  Corps  Legislatif  that  the  govern- 
ment would  take  all  necessary  measures  to  insure 
that  the  safety  and  independence  of  the  Holy  Father 
would  be  maintained  amidst  the  disturbances  of 
which  Italy  was  to  be  the  scene.  The  Emperor 
himself  said  in  his  proclamation  of  May  3,  1859,  to 
the  French  people,  "  We  are  not  going  to  Italy  to 
promote  disorder,  or  to  shake  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Father,  whom  we  have  replaced  on  his  throne."    The 

ill 


112  NAPOLEON  III 


Due  de  Gramont  had  seized  every  occasion  to  speak 
in  a  similar  strain  to  Pius  IX. 

A  false  and  difficult  situation  was  suddenly 
created  for  the  ambassador  by  the  attitude  taken  by 
the  imperial  government  concerning  the  Romagna. 
Toward  the  end  of  January,  1860,  Lord  John 
Russell  wrote  to  his  nephew,  then  in  Rome  in  a 
semi-official  capacity,  that  the  annexation  of  the 
Romagna  was  about  to  be  accomplished  by  the 
admission  of  Romagnal  deputies  to  the  Sardinian 
parliament ;  that  England  would  at  once  recognize 
the  new  state  of  things,  and  the  Emperor  immedi- 
ately follow  suit.  Much  disturbed  by  this  informa- 
tion, the  Due  de  Gramont  wrote  to  M.  Thouvenel, 
January  31 :  "  The  moment  has  come,  my  dear 
minister,  when  I  must  consider  with  regret,  I  might 
almost  say  with  anguish,  a  contingency  which  would 
be  doubly  painful  to  me  now  that  you  are  in  power. 
The  recognition  announced  by  Lord  John  Russell 
would  be  the  first  act  by  which  the  Emperor  par- 
ticipates in  the  spoliation  of  the  Holy  See.  Until 
now,  his  government  has  taken  very  special  pains  to 
avoid  anything  which  could  bind  it  in  this  respect. 
It  has  been  free  to  admit  the  legitimacy  of  certain 
complaints  made  by  the  inhabitants  against  the 
pontifical  government  \  to  declare  that  it  will  not 
employ  force  to  restore  them  to  the  Holy  See  ;  to 
express  the  opinion  that  the  sacrifice  of  the  revolted 
provinces  would  offer  a  solution  to  the  Pope  and  to 
Italy,  whose   advantages  would   counterbalance   its 


THE  DUG  BE  GRAMONT  113 

losses  ;  but  it  has  not  officially  sanctioned  the  seiz- 
ure of  the  Roman  provinces  by  the  House  of  Savoy." 
Then  the  ambassador  broached  the  personal  issue : 
"  Until  now  I  have  loj^ally  and  entirely  associated 
myself  with  the  Emperor's  policy  ;  I  have  served 
him  with  the  utmost  possible  zeal,  and,  I  will  add, 
with  sentiments  which  he  fully  recognizes  in  me, 
and  which  I  have  heartily  devoted  to  him  for  these 
many  years."  He  referred  to  the  fact  that,  by  the 
sovereign's  orders  and  the  constant  instructions  of 
the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  he  had  invariably 
asserted  that  Napoleon  III.  would  never  be  the 
aggressor  and  spoiler  of  the  Pope.  He  had  said  this 
to  Pius  IX.  and  his  ministers,  to  the  inhabitants 
of  Bologna  and  Rome,  to  the  entire  diplomatic 
corps.  "  I  ask  you,  my  dear  friend,"  he  went  on, 
"how  I  could  continue  to  represent  his  Majesty 
near  the  Holy  See  after  such  a  flat  contradiction 
given  to  all  my  words  ?  God  preserve  me  from  wish- 
ing to  give  myself  an  exaggerated  importance  here  ; 
but  after  all,  the  Emperor  himself  is  concerned  in 
having  his  ambassador  preserve  his  personal  dignity 
and  the  esteem  of  those  around  him.  In  writing 
these  lines,  I  consult  nothing  but  my  conscience  ;  1 
sacrifice  all  my  personal  convenience  and  my  incli- 
nations ;  I  sacrifice  even  my  feelings,  for  I  am  afraid 
of  wounding  the  Emperor  to  whom  I  am  deeply 
attached  ;  but  I  listen  to  an  interior  voice  which 
dictates  these  words,  and  which  has  never  led  me 
astray." 


114  NAPOLEON  Til 


The  Due  de  Gramont  cooled  down  and  waited. 
He  was  always  hoping  that  the  Pope  and  the 
Emperor  would  come  to  terms,  and  he  endeavored 
to  bring  this  about.  However,  the  relation  between 
the  Vatican  and  the  Tuileries  became  more  tense. 
In  February,  Pius  IX.  said  :  "  Well,  M.  l'Ambassa- 
deur,  the  situation  is  clearing  up.  I  know  that  I 
have  nothing  further  to  expect  from  the  Emperor  ; 
he  will  let  the  Legations  be  taken  from  me,  and  I 
cannot  prevent  it.  They  will  take  whatever  he  will 
permit  them  to  take,  and  leave  me  what  he  forces 
them  to  leave.     He  has  the  power,  he  is  the  master." 

The  irritation  of  Pius  IX.  continually  increased. 
The  Due  de  Gramont  wrote  to  M.  Thouvenel,  March 
6  :  "  For  some  days  past  the  Pope  seems  much 
excited  ;  he  talks  a  great  deal,  a  great  deal  too  much, 
and  to  everybody.  Day  before  yesterday  this  indig- 
nation crushed  the  Portuguese  minister  who  had 
ventured  a  few  words  in  favor  of  conciliation.  In 
the  evening  he  said,  "  Truly,  advice  from  that  little 
man,  representing  that  little  country,  is  the  ass's 
kick."  To  others,  to  Frenchmen,  he  exclaimed, 
"This  is  an  infernal  policy  which  changes  every 
moment." 

In  March,  the  ambassador  entertained  a  fleeting 
hope  that  a  combination  might  be  made  which,  in 
his  view,  would  solve  all  difficulties.  He  thought 
the  Pope  might  defend  Rome  with  the  pontifical 
troops,  and  a  Neapolitan  army  be  assigned  the  task 
of  defending  the  rest  of  the  States  of  the  Church. 


THE  I)UC  BE  GRAMONT  115 

On  the  10th  of  the  month  he  wrote  to  M.  Thouvenel : 
"  Should  the  Emperor  have  no  objection  to  enter 
into  negotiation  on  these  bases,  a  single  word  by 
telegraph  will  apprise  me  of  the  fact,  and  I  can 
arrange  it  here  more  easily  than  elsewhere,  as  I 
have  means  of  acting  directly  upon  the  King  of 
Naples.  For  my  part,  I  own  it  would  afford  me 
great  satisfaction  if  such  a  combination  could  suc- 
ceed, for  it  unquestionably  holds  out  serious  political 
advantages  both  to  Italy  and  to  us.  It  would  put  an 
end  to  this  irksome  solidarity  which  our  prolonged 
occupation  necessarily  entails.  It  would  round  out 
the  Emperor's  idea  and  fulfil  his  promises  to  Italy 
and  his  engagements  with  England  by  leaving  the 
peninsula  in  the  hands  of  the  nationals.  Indirectly 
it  would  bridle  Piedmontese  aggressiveness  by  ex- 
acting from  the  King  of  Sardinia  a  pledge  concern- 
ing the  Neapolitan  troops,  or  even,  which  would  be 
more  explicit,  concerning  the  pontifical  territory. 
Hence  from  every  point  of  view  it  would  be  an 
excellent  climax  to  our  efforts  for  the  welfare  of 
Italy." 

But  this  latest  illusion  of  the  ambassador  was 
speedily  dispelled.  Francis  II.,  King  of  Naples,  was 
of  too  vacillating  a  character  to  attempt  such  an 
enterprise.  He  refused  to  lend  his  troops  to  the 
Pope,  saying  he  was  afraid  that  Victor  Emmanuel 
might  corrupt  them.  And,  when  April  began,  the 
arrival  in  Rome  of  General  de  Laraoriciere  increased 
the  ambassador's  embarrassments. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

GENERAL   DE   LAMORICIERE 

TT)IUS  IX.  did  not  content  himself  with  prayer. 
He  chose  to  avail  himself  of  the  human  means 
at  his  disposal,  and  to  defend  by  arms,  if  need  were, 
the  patrimony  of  St.  Peter.  In  the  Vatican  a  party 
of  action  was  visibly  in  process  of  formation  which 
hoped  to  recruit  an  army  and  rely  in  France  upon 
the  adversaries  of  Napoleon  III.,  and  not  on  the 
imperial  government,  in  which  the  Pope  had  lost  all 
confidence.  A  militant  and  impulsive  prelate,  Mon- 
seigneur  de  Merode,  belonging  to  the  highest  aris- 
tocracy of  Belgium,  was  the  leader  of  this  party. 
Born  March  15,  1802,  he  had  served  as  an  officer 
in  the  army  of  King  Leopold,  and,  in  Algeria,  under 
the  French  flag.  Becoming  a  priest,  he  retained 
under  the  cassock  the  ardor  and  the  belligerent  in- 
clinations that  he  had  formerly  sheltered  under  a 
uniform.  Stationed  at  Rome  in  the  capacity  of 
privy  chamberlain  and  grand  cup-bearer  of  the 
Pope,  he  was  appointed  Minister  of  War  in  1860. 
It  would  have  pleased  him  to  make  of  Pius  IX.  an- 
other Julius  II.,  that  warlike  pontiff  who  took  back 
the  Romagna  from  Ctesar  Borgia,  subdued  Perugia 

116 


GENERAL   DE   LAM0RC1ERE. 


GENERAL  BE  LAMORICIERE  117 

and  Bologna,  added  Parma,  Piacenza,  and  Reggio 
to  his  States,  and  fought,  sword  in  hand,  against 
Venice  and  France. 

It  was  Monseigneur  de  Merode  who  had  the  idea  of 
inducing  General  de  Lamoriciere  to  enter  the  Pope's 
service.  He  heard  that  in  talking  with  a  former 
French  ambassador  at  Rome,  M.  de  Courcelle,  the 
general  had  said,  "  The  pontifical  cause  is  one  that  it 
would  be  good  to  die  in."  This  phrase  was  a  revela- 
tion to  Monseigneur  de  Merode.  Accompanied  by 
his  brother,  the  Comte  Werner  de  Merode,  he  went 
to  see  General  de  Lamoriciere  at  the  chateau  of 
Prouzel,  in  Picardy,  and  had  no  difficulty  in  per- 
suading him  to  become  the  armed  champion  of 
Pius  IX.  Lamoriciere  wrote  at  the  time  to  General 
Bedeau :  "  I  commission  one  of  our  common  friends 
to  tell  you  the  part  I  have  taken.  .  .  .  Really,  I 
have  no  hope  but  in  God ;  for,  so  far  as  I  know, 
no  man  is  equal  to  the  work  I  am  about  to  begin. 
...  I  hope  I  shall  not  lack  boldness  when  need 
arises ;  but  I  expect  my  reward  in  heaven  much 
rather  than  here." 

General  de  Lamoriciere  was  possibly  the  most 
illustrious  of  all  the  men  who  had  refused  to  rally 
to  the  Second  Empire.  His  family  connections  and 
his  piety  made  him  agreeable  to  the  legitimists,  the 
glorious  part  he  had  taken  in  the  African  campaigns, 
and  his  friendship  for  the  sons  of  Louis  Philippe  to 
the  Orleanists,  and  to  the  republicans  he  was  equally 
endeared  by  the  great  role  he  had  played  under  the 


118  NAPOLEON  III 


Second  Republic,  his  loyalty  to  General  Cavaignac, 
and  his  bitter  opposition  to  the  coup  oVEtat.  He 
was  one  of  the  principal  victims  of  the  2d  of 
December.  The  different  oppositions  found  in  him 
their  incarnation.  In  his  own  person  he  represented 
all  the  malcontents. 

General  de  Lamoriciere  arrived  in  Rome  with  Mon- 
seigneur  de  Merode,  April  1,  1860.  Two  days  later, 
the  Due  de  Gramont  wrote  to  M.  Thouvenel  :  — 

"  My  dear  Minister  :  General  de  Lamoriciere 
is  here.  He  has  accepted  an  appointment  as  gener- 
alissimo of  the  pontifical  army,  with  the  proviso  that 
he  is  never  to  serve  against  France.  Cardinal  Anto- 
nelli  was  commissioned  to  ask  the  Emperor  for  the 
necessary  authorization,  and  he  seems  to  have  replied 
that  he  would  arrange  matters  with  the  Minister  of 
War  and  the  grand  chancellor  of  the  Legion  of 
Honor ;  that  this  would  suffice,  and  that  there  was 
no  need  of  writing  to  the  Emperor.  There  is  a  men- 
ace in  this  which  will  not  escape  you,  and  which 
annoys  the  Holy  See.  In  fact,  the  Pope  is  very  well 
aware  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  give  a  high 
position  in  his  States  to  an  officer  who  should  set  up 
as  a  rebel  against  his  Majesty." 

Lamoriciere's  arrival  embarrassed  the  Due  de  Gra- 
mont, who  on  this  occasion  thought  he  had  cause  of 
complaint  against  General  de  Goyon,  aide-de-camp 
of  the  Emperor,  and  commander  of  the  French  army 
of  occupation  at  Rome.  April  7  he  sent  word  to 
M.  Thouvenel  that  "  General  de  Goyon  has  begun 


GENERAL   DE  LAMOIUCIERE  119 

by  taking  in  hand  the  Vatican  party  and  Lamori- 
ciere,  and  if  I  had  not  prevented  him,  a  word  from 
the  Cardinal  was  all  he  was  waiting  for  to  pay  mili- 
tary honors  to  the  new  pontifical  general,  without 
troubling  himself  to  ascertain  whether  or  not  the 
latter  stood  all  right  with  his  own  government. 
The  result  is  that  the  camarilla  considers  the  gen- 
eral a  saint  and  the  ambassador  a  devil,  the  worthy 
representative  of  a  sovereign  who  is  still  more  of  a 
devil  than  he." 

It  is  curious  to  note  the  opinion  formed  of  Lamo- 
riciere's  new  role  by  M.  de  Persigny,  one  of  the  most 
ardent  of  imperialists.  He  writes  :  "  Ambassador 
of  France  at  London,  I  happened,  some  days  since, 
to  be  in  Paris,  when  I  heard  this  news,  which  aston- 
ished me  very  much.  I  knew  M.  de  Lamoriciere's 
hatred  for  the  Emperor,  his  violent,  vindictive  char- 
acter, his  inconsiderate  remarks,  and  that  his  sur- 
roundings were  hostile  to  the  government ;  I  did 
not  understand  how  so  important  and  delicate  a 
post  could  be  given  to  such  a  man  under  circum- 
stances so  grave.  I  was  convinced  that  he  had  ac- 
cepted command  of  the  Pope's  army  simply  to  have 
occasion  to  create  difficulties  for  us  in  Italy.  Carry- 
ing no  serious  political  weight,  by  turns  revolution- 
ist and  conservative,  demagogue  and  clerical,  yet 
brave  and  audacious,  M.  de  Lamoriciere  might  be  a 
dangerous  political  instrument  in  the  hands  of  our 
enemies." 

It  is  plain  that  M.  de  Persigny  was  greatly  preju- 


120  NAPOLEON  III 


diced  against  the  general.  And  yet  he  had  the 
idea  of  making  him  serviceable  to  French  interests 
by  uniting  him  to  a  combination  which  he  proposed 
to  the  Emperor  as  likely  to  prevent  Italian  unity  by 
severing  the  Pope  and  the  King  of  Naples.  Accord- 
ing to  this  plan  General  de  Lamoriciere  would  have 
defended  Rome  with  the  pontifical  troops,  —  the 
French  troops  occupying  the  Marches  and  Umbria 
meanwhile. 

M.  de  Persigny  adds  in  the  same  writing  (dated 
from   Chamarande,    January   29,    1868):    "If    this 
policy  was  not  in  the  interest  of  Italy,  it  was  at 
least  in  that  of   France,  which  had  everything  to 
fear  from  the  complications  of  the  Roman  question. 
When  one  reflects  that  nothing  was  needed  to  escape 
all  these  difficulties  but  to  station  General  de  Lamo- 
riciere at  Rome  and  guard  our  frontier  ourselves,  it 
is  hard  to  understand  why  a  measure  so  simple  and 
easy  of  execution  was  not  adopted  by  the  French 
government.     For  several  years  my  amazement  at 
this  fault  was  so  great  that,  in  spite  of  my  knowl- 
edge of  its  habitual  inertia,  I  attributed   it  to  the 
opposition  of  the  court  of  Rome  and  the  obstinate 
passions   of   the   ultramontane   party.      The   truth, 
which  I  learned  later,  was  that  the  Emperor's  gov- 
ernment did   nothing,  proposed    nothing    to    Rome 
on   this   subject.      All    warnings   were   unavailing. 
The  force   of   inertia   carried   the   day  against  the 
most  ordinary  prudence." 

The  Emperor  gave  the  general  the  authorization 


GENERAL  DE  LAMORICIERE  121 

required  in  order  to  preserve  his  French  citizenship 
while  serving  under  the  Papal  flag.  But  between 
him  and  the  quondam  proscript  of  the  2d  of 
December  there  remained  a  mutual  suspicion.  It 
annoyed  the  Due  de  Gramont  to  see  Frenchmen 
known  for  their  ultra-legitimist  or  Orleanist  sympa- 
thies coming  to  Rome  to  take  service  under  the  new 
general.  The  legitimists  were  the  most  enthusiastic 
of  his  supporters.  The  former  minister  of  General 
Cavaignac  had  become  the  idol  of  the  adherents  of 
the  white  flag. 

Yet  the  general's  attitude  toward  the  French 
embassy  was  correct.  He  ordered  his  officers  to 
abstain  from  imprudent  language,  and  not  to  pro- 
voke the  displeasure  of  the  Emperor.  Moreover,  he 
was  touched  by  the  attentions  shown  him  by  General 
de  Goyon  and  the  French  officers,  all  of  whom 
admired  the  exploits  of  the  hero  of  Africa.  He  still 
hoped  that  France  would  not  abandon  him.  It  was 
at  this  time  that  M.  de  Persigny,  notwithstanding 
his  well-known  sympathies  for  Piedmont,  said  to 
Napoleon  III.  :  "  To  aid  in  the  destruction  of  the 
pontifical  army  by  force  of  arms  would  be  to  outstep 
the  boundaries  of  prudence,  and  give  an  appear- 
ance of  weakness  and  duplicity  to  our  policy 
which  nothing  could  justify  in  the  eyes  of  Catholic 
Europe."  Lamoriciere  sometimes  had  a  presenti- 
ment of  such  a  desertion.  From  the  time  of  his 
arrival  in  Rome,  he  had  comprehended  all  the  diffi- 
culties of  his  task.     This  brave  soldier,  whose  youth 


122  NAPOLEON  III 


had  been  so  brilliant,  so  gay,  so  enthusiastic,  had  in 
later  years  experienced  all  the  sorrows  and  disen- 
chantments  of  life.  The  eight  years  of  exile  or  of 
inactivity  he  had  passed  since  his  sword  was  broken 
in  1851,  left  him  profoundly  melancholy  at  heart. 
Neglected  by  men,  he  had  returned  to  God.  The 
religious  sentiments  which  animated  the  Crusaders 
when  they  reached  the  Holy  Land  were  not  more 
keen  than  those  which  he  experienced  on  entering 
the  Eternal  City.  If  need  were,  he  meant  to  offer 
himself  in  holocaust,  and  to  merit  in  the  eyes  of  the 
Church,  if  not  the  laurels  of  the  conqueror,  at  least 
the  martyr's  palm. 


CHAPTER  XX 

THE   PONTIFICAL  ARMY 

/^\N  the  1st  of  March  the  pontifical  army  com- 
^^  prised  sixteen  thousand  men.  General  de 
Lamoriciere  occupied  himself  in  completing  and 
organizing  this  army.  Volunteers  from  France, 
Belgium,  Ireland,  Austria,  and  Bavaria  augmented 
the  total  to  nearly  twenty-five  thousand.  This  was 
a  real  crusade. 

April  8,  Easter  Sunday,  Lamoriciere  issued  an 
order  of  the  day  to  his  soldiers,  in  which  he  said  : 
"At  the  sound  of  the  grand  voice  which  lately 
apprised  the  world  from  the  Vatican  of  the  dangers 
threatening  the  patrimony  of  St.  Peter,  Catholics 
were  moved,  and  their  emotion  soon  spread  to  every 
part  of  the  earth. 

"  This  is  because  Christianity  is  not  merely  the 
religion  of  the  civilized  world,  but  the  animating 
principle  of  civilization ;  it  is  because  the  Papacy  is 
the  keystone  of  the  arch  of  Christianity,  and  all 
Christian  nations  seem,  in  these  days,  to  be  conscious 
of  those  great  verities  which  are  our  faith. 

"  The  revolution  to-day  threatens  Europe  as  Islam- 
ism  did  of  old,  and  now,  as  then,  the  cause  of  the 

123 


124  NAPOLEON  III 


Pope  is  that  of  civilization  and  liberty  throughout 
the  world. 

"  Soldiers,  have  confidence,  and  believe  that  God 
will  raise  our  courage  to  the  level  of  the  great  cause 
whose  defence  He  has  intrusted  to  our  arms." 

As  chief  of  staff,  Lamoriciere  selected  the  Marquis 
de  Pimodan.  Born  in  Paris  January  29,  1822,  he 
had  been  received  at  Saint-Cyr,  but  as  officers  were 
then  required  to  swear  allegiance  to  Louis-Philippe, 
he  was  unwilling  to  serve  in  France,  and,  with  the 
approbation  of  the  Comte  de  Chambord,  entered  the 
Austrian  army,  already  well  supplied  with  officers 
belonging  to  old  French  families.  He  distinguished 
himself  in  1848  and  1849  in  the  Italian  and  Hunga- 
rian campaigns.  At  the  age  of  thirty-three  he  was 
already  a  colonel,  and  as  no  further  promotion  was 
possible  unless  he  were  naturalized  an  Austrian,  he 
renounced  the  military  career,  returned  to  France, 
and  in  1855  married  Mademoiselle  de  Couronnel, 
granddaughter  of  the  Due  de  Montmorency-Laval, 
the  famous  ambassador  of  the  Restoration.  Thence- 
forward he  lived  sometimes  in  Paris,  and  sometimes 
at  the  chateau  of  Echenay,  in  the  department  of  the 
Haute-Marne.  Military  matters  continued  to  inter- 
est him.  He  published  a  pamphlet  on  the  role  of 
cavalry,  went  to  Russia  to  study  the  battlefields  of 
the  grand  army,  and  gave  M.  Thiers  considerable 
information  for  his  History  of  the  Consulate  and  the 
Empire. 

One  evening,  at  the  chateau  of  Echenay,  Pimodan 


THE  PONTIFICAL   ARMY  125 

said  in  the  course  of  conversation,  "  If  the  Pope 
wishes  to  do  anything  to  regain  his  States  and 
defend  what  he  has  left,  I  am  at  his  service."  The 
idea  of  forming  a  compact  little  pontifical  army 
seemed  at  that  time  to  many  Frenchmen  the  best  way 
to  serve  at  once  the  Papal  cause  and  that  of  France. 
Toward  the  end  of  January,  1860,  Pimodan  went  to 
Paris  to  see  the  Papal  Nuncio,  Monseigneur  Sacconi. 
"  I  am  entirely  devoted  to  the  pontifical  cause,"  he 
said  to  him  ;  "  I  urgently  request  the  Pope  to  count 
on  me."  He  arrived  in  Rome  April  4,  and  saw 
Lamoriciere  the  following  day.  On  the  16th  he 
was  appointed  colonel  in  the  pontifical  army  and 
chief  of  staff.  His  attitude  was  extremely  prudent. 
He  wrote  to  France,  "  Protest  on  my  behalf  against 
all  idea  of  hostility  to  the  government."  He  kept 
up  cordial,  almost  family,  relations  with  General  de 
Goyon,  who  commanded  the  French  corps  of  obser- 
vation. After  the  Revolution  the  great-uncle  of 
M.  de  Pimodan  had  married  a  demoiselle  de  Goyon, 
and  the  Marquise  de  Pimodan  was  a  relative  of  the 
Comtesse  de  Goyon,  born  Montesquiou-Fezensac. 

Pimodan  displayed  great  activity  in  aiding  La- 
moriciere to  reorganize  the  pontifical  troops.  It  was 
not  an  easy  task.  One  might  say  that  everything 
remained  to  be  done.  The  commander-in-chief  had 
to  contend  against  inertia,  routine,  and  inveterate 
abuses. 

However,  volunteers  poured  in,  overflowing  with 
courage.     A  generous   movement   had   taken   place 


126  NAPOLEON  III 


in  the  Catholic  provinces  of  western  France.  Young 
men  belosging  to  the  oldest  French  nobility,  and 
bearing  the  most  illustrious  names,  came  with  en- 
thusiasm to  enroll  themselves  under  the  pontifical 
banner.  This  example  was  followed  by  the  great 
Belgian  families.  The  French  were  divided  between 
a  squadron  of  guides  under  command  of  the  Comte 
de  Bourbon-Chalus,  and  a  demi-battalion  of  infantry 
which,  united  to  the  Belgian  volunteers,  formed  a 
corps  known  as  the  Franco-Belgian  sharpshooters, 
commanded  by  M.  de  Becdelievre,  once  a  captain  in 
the  French  army.  This  corps  was  the  nucleus  of 
the  pontifical  zouaves.  Henri  de  Cathelineau,  grand- 
son of  the  Saint  of  Anjou,  had  raised  a  troop  of 
volunteers.  Not  having  received  authorization  to 
command  it  himself  from  the  pontifical  government, 
he  joined  it  to  the  Franco-Belgian  battalion.  The 
Due  de  Bisaccia  presented  the  Pope  with  twelve 
rifled  cannon.  The  Irish  formed  a  battalion  named 
for  St.  Patrick.  The  Italian  pontifical  troops  com- 
prised two  regiments  of  the  line  and  two  battalions 
of  chasseurs,  besides  the  gendarmes  and  a  single 
squadron  of  cavalry  in  good  condition.  The  Swiss, 
commanded  by  Colonel  Schmidt,  numbered  between 
three  and  four  thousand,  and  formed  a  battalion  of 
carbineers  and  two  regiments  called  foreign.  These 
were  soon  augmented  by  five  thousand  Austrians, 
who  formed  five  regiments  of  bersaglieri,  some  two 
or  three  thousand  Irishmen,  and  several  hundred 
French  and  Belgians.    Added  to  the  troops  recruited 


THE  PONTIFICAL   ARMY  127 

from  the  Pope's  subjects,  this  formed  a  total  of 
twenty  to  twenty-five  thousand  men.  Concerning 
this  heterogeneous  camp,  Pimodan  wrote  :  "  It  is 
like  a  camp  of  Schiller's  Wallenstein.  All  lan- 
guages are  spoken.  I  have  chatted  with  a  good 
many  Germans,  Poles,  Hungarians,  and  even  with 
Swedes,  who  serve  under  the  name  of  Switzers  in 
the  foreign  regiments."  Among  the  Franco-Belgian 
sharpshooters  there  was  a  Rohan,  a  Ligne,  a  Chevigne, 
a  Rainneville,  a  Charette,  a  Lergeril,  two  sons  of 
Joseph  de  Maistre,  etc. 

After  many  efforts,  the  fortified  town  of  Ancona 
was  put  in  a  state  of  defence,  and  the  command  of  it 
given  by  Lamoriciere  to  one  of  his  comrades  at  the 
siege  of  Algiers,  M.  de  Quatrebarbes,  once  a  French 
deputy.  Ancona  suited  the  commander-in-chief  as 
the  last  refuge  of  an  independent  pontifical  author- 
ity. He  thought  that  in  case  of  necessity  his  army 
might  take  shelter  there  and  defend  itself  behind  the 
ramparts  long  enough  to  allow  Catholic  Europe  time 
to  intervene.  Meanwhile  he  was  everywhere  at  once, 
seeking  to  remedy  the  lack  of  cohesion  among  his 
troops.  "  General  de  Lamoriciere,"  wrote  Pimodan, 
"  is  really  a  past  master  for  the  regulations  and  the 
administration  of  an  army.  I  have  never  once  found 
him  at  fault." 

To  sum  up,  there  was  great  devotion,  bravery,  and 
enthusiasm  among  the  volunteers  who  hastened  to 
the  aid  of  the  Holy  See,  but  the  army  was  not  pre- 
pared to  resist  the  attack  of  a  great  power.     It  had 


128  NAPOLEON  III 


very  little  cavalry.  Its  artillery  comprised  only  two 
mounted  batteries  badly  organized,  and  five  march- 
ing batteries  which  were  still  worse  off.  Aided  by 
the  French  corps  of  occupation  they  would  have  done 
great  service.  Alone,  they  were  capable  of  maintain- 
ing order  in  Rome  and  of  making  headway  against 
the  revolutionary  bands.  But  from  the  moment  when 
they  should  be  confronted  by  the  Piedmontese  army, 
the  assistance  of  France  would  be  indispensable. 
Therefore,  Napoleon  III.  was  in  reality  the  master 
of  the  situation. 

We  have   just   spoken  of   the  Pope's   defenders. 
Now  let  us  glance  at  the  bitterest  of   his  enemies. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

GARIBALDI 

n^HE  Italian  revolution  was  incarnated  in  Gari- 
-1-  baldi.  A  typical  sectary  and  adventurer,  coura- 
geous to  heroism,  rash  to  folly,  inflexible,  scornful  of 
diplomatic  subterfuges ;  straightforward,  sincere,  and 
disinterested,  having  nothing  in  common  with  those 
demagogues  who  arrive  at  power  only  to  grasp  at 
what  they  once  called  the  baubles  of  vanity,  and  who 
seek  to  become  chamberlains  after  having  been  trib- 
unes; a  romantic  personage,  affecting  the  imagina- 
tion by  his  theatrical  manners,  his  inflammatory  and 
vibrant  words,  and  his  invincible  self-reliance,  Gari- 
baldi was  a  fanatic,  a  seer,  a  visionary.  His  adhe- 
rents considered  him  an  exceptional  and  legendary 
being. 

His  life  was  a  romance  of  cloak  and  sword. 
Born  at  Nice  July  4,  1807,  he  served  first  in 
the  Piedmontese  navy.  In  1834,  he  took  part  in 
the  Young  Italy  conspiracy.  To  escape  the  police, 
he  sought  shelter  in  France.  Thence  he  went  to 
Tunis,  —  where  the  Bey  made  him  captain  of  a  frig- 
ate, —  and  from  there  to  America,  where  he  joined 
the  insurgents  of  the  Rio  Grande  province  in  fight- 

K  120 


130  NAPOLEON  III 


ing  against  Brazil.  In  1842,  he  was  taken  prisoner 
and  spent  a  year  in  captivity.  In  1844,  he  entered 
the  service  of  the  Republic  of  Uruguay,  then  at  war 
with  Rosas,  dictator  of  Buenos  Ayres.  With  three 
small  vessels  he  held  his  own  for  three  consecutive 
days  against  a  flotilla  of  ten  ships  of  war.  Rather 
than  surrender,  he  burned  his  vessels,  went  ashore 
with  his  companions,  fought  his  way  through  the 
enemy's  troops,  and  went  to  take  command  of  an 
Italian  legion.  He  was  the  victor  in  several  engage- 
ments, notably  that  of  Saint-Antoine.  After  this 
latter  fight,  the  Montevidean  government  decreed 
that  the  date  of  the  battle  and  the  name  of  Gari- 
baldi should  be  inscribed  in  letters  of  gold  on  the 
banner  of  the  Italian  legion.  At  this  time,  the  name 
of  the  hardy  adventurer  was  famous  throughout 
America.  It  was  soon  to  be  so  throughout  Europe. 
At  the  first  rumor  of  the  events  of  1848,  Garibaldi 
left  Montevideo.  He  landed  at  Genoa  and  was 
greeted  with  enthusiasm.  He  established  himself 
in  a  strong  position  on  the  banks  of  Lake  Como, 
at  the  head  of  a  free  company  of  five  thousand  men, 
but  after  some  successes  was  obliged  to  withdraw 
into  Switzerland.  In  1849,  the  flight  of  Pius  IX. 
and  the  proclamation  of  the  Roman  Republic  afforded 
new  aliment  to  his  revolutionary  activity.  Called 
to  Rome  by  Mazzini,  he  sat  in  the  Constituent  As- 
sembly, and  then  organized  the  defence  of  the  city 
against  the  French  army.  After  the  victory  of  the 
latter,  he  left  Rome  July  2,  1849,  with  two  thousand 


GARIBALDI  131 


foot  soldiers  and  four  hundred  horsemen,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  conducting  his  little  band  to  the  neutral 
territory  of  San  Marino.  The  powers  obliged  the 
little  Republic  to  turn  out  the  fugitives,  who  dis- 
persed. Hunted  by  the  Austrians,  Garibaldi  crossed 
the  Apennines,  his  wife  Anita  dying  of  fatigue  during 
the  journey.  It  was  only  after  great  sufferings  and 
dangers  that  he  reached  Genoa  and  set  off  once  more 
for  America. 

On  returning  to  the  New  World,  Garibaldi  devoted 
himself  to  business.  In  New  York,  he  managed  a 
candle  factory.  Then  he  went  to  California,  entered 
the  service  of  Peru,  and  in  1852  made  a  voyage  to 
China  in  a  Peruvian  vessel.  He  returned  to  Genoa 
in  1854,  and  became  a  captain  in  the  Piedmontese 
merchant  service.  During  the  war  of  1859  he  took 
the  offensive  against  Austria  at  the  head  of  the 
Alpine  chasseurs.  In  1860,  he  protested  against  the 
annexation  of  Savoy  and  Nice  to  France,  and  resigned 
his  posts  as  major-general  and  deputy.  When  Nice, 
his  native  city,  became  French,  he  posed  as  the  ruth- 
less adversary  of  Cavour,  and  vowed  that  he  would 
direct  the  destinies  of  Italy  to  suit  himself,  careless 
alike  of  counsels  and  of  threats.  Although  he  con- 
tinued to  speak  respectfully  of  Victor  Emmanuel,  he 
resolved  to  pay  no  more  attention  to  the  King  than 
to  his  minister,  and  to  consider  the  remonstrances  of 
European  diplomacy  as  null  and  void. 

Sicily  having  rebelled  against  the  King  of  Naples, 
Garibaldi  determined  to  get  an  expedition  ready  at 


132  NAPOLEON  III 


Genoa  and  go  to  its  assistance.  April  26  the 
Gazette  of  Milan  published  the  following  note  • 
"  Volunteers  who  may  desire  to  go  to  Sicily  should 
address  themselves  to  the  office  of  this  journal." 
This  was  the  first  hint  the  public  got  of  Garibaldi's 
schemes.  The  Piedmontese  government  took  no 
notice  of  it.  All  preparations  were  made  without 
the  slightest  secrecy.  And  before  starting  the 
leader  of  the  expedition  wrote  this  letter  to  Victor 
Emmanuel :  — 

"  Sire  :  The  cry  of  distress  which  reached  my  ears 
from  Sicily  has  touched  my  heart  and  those  of  several 
hundreds  of  my  old  companions  in  arms.  I  did  not 
counsel  the  insurrectionary  movement  of  my  Sicilian 
brethren ;  but  from  the  moment  when  they  rose  in 
the  name  of  Italian  unity,  of  which  your  Majesty 
is  the  personification,  against  the  most  infamous 
tyranny  of  our  epoch,  I  could  not  hesitate  to  place 
myself  at  the  head  of  the  expedition.  I  know  I  am 
embarking  in  a  dangerous  enterprise,  but  I  put  my 
trust  in  God,  as  well  as  in  the  courage  and  loyalty 
of  my  companions. 

"  Our  war-cry  will  always  be  :  Long  live  the  unity 
of  Italy !  Long  live  Victor  Emmanuel,  its  first  and 
bravest  soldier!  If  we  fail,  I  hope  that  Italy  and 
liberal  Europe  will  not  forget  that  this  enterprise 
was  undertaken  through  motives  untainted  by  self- 
ishness and  entirely  patriotic.  If  we  succeed,  I  shall 
be  proud  to  adorn  your  Majesty's  crown  with  this 
new  and   perhaps  most  brilliant  gem,  on  condition, 


GARIBALDI  133 


however,  that  your  Majesty  will  prevent  his  advisers 
from  ceding  this  province  to  the  foreigner,  as  has 
been  done  in  the  case  of  my  native  city. 

"  I  have  not  apprised  your  Majesty  of  my  project ; 
in  fact,  I  was  afraid  lest,  by  means  of  my  devotion 
to  his  person,  your  Majesty  might  succeed  in  per- 
suading me  to  abandon  it. 

"  Of  your  Majesty  the  most  devoted  subject, 

"Garibaldi." 

In  reality,  the  King  had  very  little  sympathy  with 
the  famous  adventurer.  The  Comte  d'Ideville  says  : 
"  It  is  a  mistake  to  attribute  to  Victor  Emmanuel  a 
great  liking  for  Garibaldi.  Soldiers  both,  there  were 
doubtless  certain  points  of  contact  in  their  character 
and  tastes  which  occasionally  enabled  them  to  come 
to  a  mutual  understanding.  But  the  republican 
familiarity  and  frequently  protective  airs  of  the  hero 
were  extremely  displeasing  to  the  descendant  of  the 
House  of  Savoy.  For  that  matter,  where  is  the 
sovereign,  placed  in  similar  conditions,  who  would 
not  have  taken  umbrage  at  the  fabulous  prestige  of 
Garibaldi's  name?" 

It  is  our  own  belief  that,  far  from  inciting  and 
organizing  the  expedition,  the  King  and  his  prime 
minister  attempted,  at  any  rate  in  the  first  place,  to 
prevent  it ;  but,  thinking  themselves  not  strong 
enough  to  oppose  the  popular  sentiment,  they  let 
things  take  their  course,  intending  to  disown  the 
enterprise  if  it  failed,  and  to  profit  by  it  if  it  suc- 
ceeded.     The  Comte  d'Ideville  relates  that  Victor 


134  NAPOLEON  III 


Emmanuel  said  to  Baron  de  Talleyrand,  the  French 
minister  :  "  Mon  Dieu,  of  course  it  would  be  a  great 
misfortune,  but  if  the  Neapolitan  cruisers  hang  my 
poor  Garibaldi,  he  will  have  brought  his  sad  fate 
upon  himself.  It  would  simplify  matters  a  good 
deal.  What  a  fine  monument  we  would  put  up  to 
him!" 

When  it  was  learned  that  during  the  night  of 
May  5-6  Garibaldi  and  a  thousand  volunteers  had 
embarked  at  Genoa  for  Sicily  on  two  vessels  taken 
by  force  from  the  Rubattino  Company,  there  was 
great  excitement  in  Europe.  Diplomacy  protested 
against  this  violation  of  the  law  of  nations.  In 
Paris,  the  official  world,  the  Catholics,  the  conserva- 
tives, loudly  blamed  the  adventure.  But  the  liberal 
journals  praised  it. 

Facing  such  a  situation,  Napoleon  III.,  on  whom 
the  eyes  of  all  Europe  were  fixed,  had  to  choose 
between  three  policies  :  1.  Frankly  to  accept  Italian 
unity,  and  put  himself  at  the  head  of  the  movement. 
2.  To  combat  unity  by  defending  the  Pope  and  the 
King  of  Naples  with  energy.  3.  To  preserve  an 
expectant  attitude,  invoking  the  principle  of  non- 
intervention, and  allow  himself  to  be  led  by  events 
instead  of  leading  them.  The  Emperor  adopted  the 
latter  policy. 


CHAPTER   XXII 

FRANCIS   II 

f  I  ^HE  throne  of  Naples  had  been  occupied  since 
**"  May  2,  1859,  by  Francis  II.,  born  January  16, 
1836,  of  the  first  marriage  of  Ferdinand  II.  with  a 
daughter  of  Victor  Emmanuel  I.,  king  of  Sardinia. 
February  3,  1859,  the  young  prince  had  married  a 
daughter  of  Duke  Maximilian  of  Bavaria,  the  Prin- 
cess Sophia,  sister  of  the  Empress  of  Austria. 

On  ascending  the  throne,  Francis  II.  seemed  deter- 
mined to  deviate  in  nothing  from  the  system  of  his 
father,  —  an  inflexible  adversary  of  liberalism,  —  and 
in  his  proclamation  to  his  people  he  praised  "  that 
great  and  pious  monarch  whose  heroic  virtues  and 
sublime  merits  have  never  been  sufficiently  cele- 
brated." The  adviser  of  the  young  sovereign  at 
this  time  was  his  stepmother,  the  Archduchess 
Theresa,  daughter  of  the  famous  Archduke  Charles, 
Napoleon's  rival,  and  second  wife  of  Ferdinand  II. 
Not  one  of  the  officials  who  served  the  late  King 
was  displaced,  and  the  Neapolitan  government  re- 
mained neutral  during  the  war  in  northern  Italy. 

Might  Francis  II.  have  averted  the  dangers  which 
threatened  his  dynasty  if  he  had  at  once  become 
the  ally  of  his  relative,  King  Victor  Emmanuel,  and 

136 


136  NAPOLEON  III 


granted  certain  reforms  and  a  constitution?  It  is 
doubtful.  No  concession  would  have  induced  the 
advocates  of  Italian  unity,  or  such  revolutionists  as 
Mazzini  and  Garibaldi,  to  lay  down  their  arms.  The 
Neapolitan  dynasty  was  condemned  by  them,  they 
would  not  at  any  price  uphold  it.  If  Francis  II. 
refused  reforms,  they  accused  him  of  blindness  and 
tyranny ;  if  he  granted  them,  they  were  converted 
by  his  enemies  into  weapons  against  him.  Russia, 
Austria,  and  Prussia  displayed  great  sympathy  for 
him;  but  as  the  European  concert  was  now  but  a 
figure  of  speech,  of  what  avail  were  their  sympathies? 
At  the  beginning  of  his  reign  England,  which  dreaded 
that  some  Murat  might  ascend  the  throne  of  Naples, 
and  France,  which  was  not  engaged  in  such  a  com- 
bination, and,  moreover,  cared  nothing  about  Italian 
unity,  had  both  been  kindly  to  the  youthful  mon- 
arch, and  renewed  the  diplomatic  relations  with  the 
Neapolitan  government  which  had  been  interrupted 
at  the  end  of  the  reign  of  Ferdinand  II.  The  un- 
derground work  of  the  Revolution  was  not  yet  com- 
pleted, and  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  uniting 
under  one  sceptre  peoples  so  dissimilar  as  the  Pied- 
montese  and  Lombards  on  one  hand,  and  the  Nea- 
politans on  the  other,  gave  room  for  hope  that  the 
most  natural  solution  of  the  Italian  question  would 
be  arrived  at ;  namely,  the  division  of  the  peninsula 
between  Victor  Emmanuel,  king  of  northern  Italy, 
Pius  IX.,  sovereign  of  the  States  of  the  Church  in 
the  centre,  and  Francis  II.,  king  of  southern  Italy. 


FRANCIS   II. 
Of  Naples  and  Sicily. 


FRANCIS  II  137 


Napoleon  III.  did  not  seem  averse  to  such  a  system. 
He  directed  Baron  Brenier,  his  minister  at  Naples,  to 
maintain  amicable  relations  with  the  king's  govern- 
ment ;  but  his  sympathies  with  that  prince  were  very 
limited,  and  he  had  no  intention  of  giving  him  active 
assistance.  If  a  Bourbon  of  the  elder  branch,  or 
even  of  the  younger,  had  been  on  the  throne  of 
France  instead  of  Napoleon  III.,  it  is  probable  that 
Francis  II.  would  not  have  been  abandoned  as  he 
was.  Family  ties  might  then  have  induced  the  gov- 
ernment to  sustain  a  dynasty  of  French  origin,  the 
head  of  which  was  a  descendant  of  Louis  XIV.  But 
such  souvenirs  counted  for  very  little  with  the  Em- 
peror. Then,  too,  all  the  republicans,  the  advanced 
liberals,  the  partisans  of  Piedmontese  policy,  showed 
a  systematic  hostility  to  Francis  II.  The  legitimist 
party  alone  bore  him  real  good  will;  and  yet  the 
youth  of  the  prince  made  him  interesting,  and  he 
was  worthy  of  respect  for  his  virtues  and  his  piety. 
If  there  were  abuses  in  his  dominions,  he  was  not 
responsible  for  them.  He  bore  the  penalty  of  crimes 
he  had  not  committed. 

In  spite  of  its  weakness  and  the  germs  of  treason 
it  contained ;  in  spite,  too,  of  an  incessant  revo- 
lutionary propaganda,  the  Neapolitan  government 
would  have  repressed  all  internal  troubles  and  made 
an  end  of  the  Garibaldian  gangs,  had  it  not  been 
forced  to  contend  against  the  Piedmontese  regular 
army. 

When  Garibaldi  sailed  in  the  night  of  May  5-6 


138  NAPOLEON  III 


from  Genoa  for  an  unknown  destination,  the  consuls 
telegraphed,  the  chancelleries  were  in  commotion. 
The  semi-official  Parisian  press  tried  to  reassure  the 
public.  After  announcing  the  enterprise,  La  Patrie 
added:  "We  need  not  add  that  the  Piedmontese 
government  censures  this  conduct,  which  is  not 
simply  an  act  of  insubordination,  but  actual  treason, 
so  far  as  it  is  concerned.  Besides,  the  vessel  which 
carries  Garibaldi  is  signalled  all  along  the  coast." 

The  daring  adventurer  had  selected  Marsala,  a 
city  of  20,000  souls,  156  kilometres  from  Palermo,  as 
his  landing-place.  The  choice  was  a  clever  one. 
Marsala  contained  many  English  people  among  its 
inhabitants,  consequently  many  friends,  and  the 
country  between  it  and  Palermo  was  hilly  and  had 
no  roads,  and  therefore  was  advantageous  for  a 
leader  of  desultory  troops.  Unable  to  go  through 
the  strait  guarded  by  the  citadel  of  Messina,  Gari- 
baldi had  to  sail  in  the  direction  of  Tunis.  Going 
ashore  at  the  Regence  headland,  near  Cape  Bon,  he 
provisioned  his  boats,  the  Piemonte  and  the  Lom- 
*     bardo,  and  went  on  toward  Marsala. 

The  two  boats  had  been  perceived,  and  two  Nea- 
politan war  vessels,  the  Capri  and  the  Stromboli,  pur- 
sued them  in  all  haste.  When  the  Piemonte  and 
the  Lombardo  came  in  sight  of  Marsala,  May  11,  the 
two  frigates  were  not  more  than  half  a  league  behind 
them.  Garibaldi  and  Bixio,  hastening  to  shelter 
behind  two  English  men-of-war,  the  Argus  and  the 
Independence,  lying  in  the  harbor,  began  their  disem- 


FRANCIS  II  139 


barkation.  The  Neapolitans  sent  a  request  that  the 
English  captains  would  withdraw  their  vessels  and 
leave  room  for  an  attack.  The  latter  replied  that 
they  could  not  comply  with  this  demand  until  their 
officers,  most  of  whom  were  ashore,  should  return 
on  board.  This  operation  took  two  hours  at  least, 
and  it  is  permissible  to  believe  that  the  English  were 
willing  to  be  slow  about  it.  However  this  may  be, 
Garibaldi  and  his  companions,  thus  protected  by  two 
British  ships,  landed  without  being  disturbed.  The 
only  consolation  left  the  Neapolitans  was  to  seize 
their  empty  vessels. 

The  Sicilian  insurrection  seemed  to  be  nearly  put 
down,  and  Garibaldi  received  a  rather  cool  reception 
in  Marsala.  He  did  not  remain  there,  but  went  on 
to  Salemi,  where  he  bivouacked  three  days,  awaiting 
the  recruits  he  expected  from  the  interior.  The 
effective  of  his  little  troop  having  mounted  to  four 
thousand  men,  he  marched  toward  Palermo  May  15, 
and  fought  a  Neapolitan  corps  at  Calatafimi.  He 
was  at  Alcamo  on  the  17th,  where  in  the  name  of 
King  Victor  Emmanuel  he  organized  a  government 
whose  Secretary  of  State  was  M.  Crispi,  afterward 
prosecuted  for  his  republican  tendencies.  May  22 
he  arrived  at  Parco,  ten  kilometres  from  Palermo. 
He  attempted  a  surprise  the  next  morning  at  four 
o'clock  and  succeeded.  He  carried  the  San  Anto- 
nino  gate  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  and  got  as  far 
as  the  Place  of  the  Four  Cantons,  the  centre  of  the 
city.    The  Neapolitan  general,  Lanza,  at  once  ordered 


140  NAPOLEON  III 


a  bombardment,  and  the  fleet  bringing  its  broadside 
to  bear  on  the  Marine  Promenade,  shelled  Palermo 
with  red-hot  shot  and  bombs.  It  was  a  useless 
performance,  however,  and  Garibaldi  remained  in 
possession.  Admiral  Persano  then  arrived  in  the 
roadstead  with  Piedmontese  naval  vessels,  and  se- 
cretly provided  Garibaldi  with  cannon  and  muni- 
tions. The  Cabinet  of  Turin  did  not  yet  dare  to 
take  off  its  mask. 

At  Naples,  people  heard  in  quick  succession  of  the 
landing  of  Garibaldi,  the  occupation  of  Marsala,  the 
battle  of  Calatafimi,  and  the  taking  of  Palermo. 
The  terrible  news  stupefied  the  court  and  the  gov- 
ernment. Francis  II.  felt  himself  surrounded  by 
traitors.  Their  principal  asylum,  the  centre  of  their 
conventicles,  was  the  Piedmontese  legation.  The 
unhappy  sovereign  still  fancied  that  Europe  would 
not  permit  such  a  violation  of  the  law  of  nations. 
But  fate  held  in  reserve  for  him  a  series  of  still  bit- 
terer and  more  painful  disillusions.  This  was  but 
the  first  act  in  the  fatal  drama. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

THE   INTEKVIEW   OF  BADEN 

f"PHE  annexation  of  Savoy  and  Nice  had  greatly 
disturbed  the  Germans.  Every  one  was  saying 
that  if  Napoleon  III.  had  rectified  the  southeastern 
frontier  of  France,  he  likewise  intended  to  rectify 
that  of  the  northeast,  and  possess  himself  of  the 
banks  of  the  Rhine. 

There  was  at  this  time  in  Berlin  a  woman  better 
adapted  than  any  one  else  to  appreciate  the  disposi- 
tions of  Prussian  society.  This  was  Madame  the 
Comtesse  de  Beaulaincourt,  whose  husband  was  mili- 
tary attache  of  the  French  legation,  and  whose  sister 
was  the  widow  of  Count  Hatzfeldt  who  died  while 
Minister  of  Prussia  at  Paris.  Madame  de  Beau- 
laincourt wrote,  June  1,  to  her  father,  Marshal  de 
Castellane  :  "  You  can't  imagine  how  annoyed  this 
country  is  against  the  French.  This  hostility  exists 
among  the  people  as  well  as  in  society.  Infamous 
libels  are  published,  and  read  with  avidity.  You 
can't  get  it  out  of  the  heads  of  the  majority  of  the 
public  that  we  mean  to  go  to  war  with  them  on  the 
Rhine,  although  there  is  neither  word  nor  deed  to 
confirm  that  notion  ;  the  Rhine  populations  are 
also   greatly  irritated.     From   this   springs    hatred, 

141 


142  NAPOLEON  III 


anxiety,  suspicion.  As  there  is  no  foundation  for 
the  rumor,  I  do  not  see  how  things  are  to  be  recti- 
fied and  set  in  their  true  light.  Italian  affairs  pro- 
duce a  great  effect  here  and  help  to  increase  the 
feeling  against  France." 

Napoleon  III.  suddenly  resolved  to  reassure  the 
public  mind  himself  by  resorting  to  personal  meas- 
ures with  that  one  of  the  German  princes  whose  influ- 
ence was  greatest  and  whose  adherence  to  his  policy 
in  general  he  most  desired.  This  was  the  Prince 
Regent  of  Prussia,  to  whom  he  proposed  an  im- 
promptu interview  at  Baden  to  which  all  the  Ger- 
man sovereigns  with  the  exception  of  the  Emperor 
of  Austria  might  be  invited.  It  is  curious  to  note 
that  of  all  the  countries  composing  the  Germanic 
Confederation,  Austria  was  the  one  that,  in  spite  of 
the  war  of  Italy,  suspected  France  the  least.  Unlike 
the  Prince  Regent  of  Prussia,  the  Emperor  Francis 
Joseph  needed  no  reassurance. 

No  sooner  was  the  interview  decided  on  than  the 
Comtesse  de  Beaulaincourt  wrote  to  Marshal  de  Cas- 
tellane  :  "  People  are  much  occupied  here  with  the 
Baden  conference  ;  the  ultras  are  furious ;  in  gen- 
eral, it  is  believed  that  it  will  produce  a  good  effect ; 
but  even  if  the  Regent  is  firm  about  it,  he  will  re- 
quire time  to  calm  all  the  evil  passions  that  have 
been  roused  here  for  some  years  past.  The  Regent 
will  be  accompanied  only  by  two  aides-de-camp  :  one 
of  them  is  M.  de  Loc,  who  will  do  admirably ;  the 
other  is  old  Rostitz,  he  is  eighty." 


THE  INTERVIEW  OF  BADEN  143 

Baden  was  a  well-chosen  locality  for  an  assembly 
of  monarchs  and  princes.  Switzerland  affords  no 
more  luxuriant  vegetation,  no  finer  trees,  no  greener 
swards  than  are  found  in  this  little  earthly  paradise 
sheltered  between  three  mountains.  Even  the  streets 
are  nothing  but  alleys  overarched  by  oaks,  under- 
neath which  cluster  pretty  villas  and  attractive 
shops. 

In  the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe,  Baden  had  been 
adopted  by  the  Parisian  upper  class,  as  their  favorite 
summer  resort,  and  during  the  reign  of  Napoleon  III. 
it  had  become  more  fashionable  still.  During  the 
hot  season  it  was  the  rendezvous  of  all  luxuries,  ele- 
gances, and  pleasures.  At  nightfall,  the  House  of 
Conversation,  standing  in  the  middle  of  a  vast  par- 
terre surrounded  with  orange  trees,  lighted  up  its 
long  galleries  and  glittering  salons,  the  cafe  on  the 
left,  the  theatre  on  the  right,  and  between  them  the 
immense  ballroom.  The  season  of  1860  opened  with 
an  improvised  congress  which  no  one  had  spoken  of 
ten  days  before,  but  which  for  all  that  was  almost 
as  brilliant  as  the  famous  interview  of  Stuttgart. 
The  following  personages  were  present  :  the  Prince 
Regent  of  Prussia  and  his  wife  (the  future  Empress 
Augusta) ;  the  Grand  Duke  of  Baden  and  his  wife, 
daughter  of  the  Prince  Regent ;  the  Kings  of  Wiir- 
temberg,  Bavaria,  Saxony,  and  Hanover  ;  the  Grand 
Duke  of  Hesse-Darmstadt ;  the  Duke  of  Nassau  ; 
the  Duke  of  Saxe-Coburg-Gotha  ;  the  Prince  and 
Princess  Antony  of  Hohenzollern  ;    Princess  Marie 


144  NAPOLEON  III 


of  Baden,  Duchess  of  Hamilton  ;  the  Prince  and 
Princess  of  Furstenberg. 

Napoleon  III.  left  Paris  June  15,  at  seven  in  the 
morning,  for  Baden.  At  half-past  four  in  the  after- 
noon he  arrived  at  Strasburg,  where,  although  he 
was  travelling  strictly  incognito,  an  enormous  crowd 
covered  the  space  between  the  railway  station  and  the 
Kehl  bridge.  At  the  Kehl  station  he  was  met  by 
Prince  William,  sent  by  his  brother  the  Grand  Duke 
to  convoy  him  to  Baden.  He  had  often  been  there 
in  his  youth,  while  living  in  the  little  chateau  of 
Arenenberg  near  by.  It  pleased  him  to  reappear, 
brilliant  and  powerful,  in  a  city  which  reminded 
him  of  such  different  aspects  of  his  career.  His 
only  regret  was  no  longer  to  meet  there  the  amiable 
Grand  Duchess  Stephanie  of  Baden,  whose  recent 
death  had  given  him  real  sorrow,  and  in  whose  for- 
mer residence,  the  Villa  Stephanie,  he  now  took  up 
his  own. 

He  arrived  at  half-past  seven  in  the  evening,  and 
the  Prince  Regent  of  Prussia  called  upon  him  there 
an  hour  later.  On  descending  from  his  carriage, 
this  prince  found  himself  face  to  face  with  Napoleon 
III.,  who  shook  hands  cordially  and  brought  him 
into  the  salon  on  the  ground  floor.  Their  interview 
lasted  for  more  than  an  hour. 

The  Prussian  Gazette  published  that  day  an  article 
reproduced  in  Paris  by  the  Moniteur.  It  said  :  "  The 
Emperor  Napoleon  will  arrive  to-day  at  Baden  to 
salute  the  Prince    Regent  on  German  ground.     It 


THE  INTERVIEW  OF  BADEN  145 

was  the  very  kindly  expressed  wish  of  the  Emperor 
to  give  the  Prince  Regent  this  proof  of  his  peaceful 
and  friendly  sentiments.  Prussia  has  reason  to 
rejoice  at  this  kindness,  and  to  consider  its  signifi- 
cation—  which  it  is  impossible  to  misapprehend  — 
with  an  unbiassed  mind.  For  Prussia  there  can  be  no 
question  of  adopting  a  new  policy,  for  its  own  has 
ever  been  frank,  loyal,  conciliatory,  careful  to  pre- 
serve the  peace  of  Europe  and  its  tried  foundations. 
But  the  difficulties  of  the  times  have  caused  anxieties 
which  Europe  will  be  glad  to  see  vanish  in  presence 
of  the  friendly  exchange  of  opinions  between  two 
princes  whose  manner  of  acting  always  exerts  a  con- 
siderable influence,  often  a  decisive  one,  on  the  des- 
tinies of  Europe.  Germany  will  be  pleased  if  the 
Emperor  of  the  French  strengthens  in  the  mind  of 
the  Prince  Regent  the  conviction  that  French  policy 
is  as  pacific  as  it  is  strong,  and  France  will  see  an 
important  pledge  of  the  duration  of  its  neighborly 
relations  with  us,  if  the  Emperor  Napoleon  receives 
from  the  Prince  Regent  in  person  the  assurance  of 
that  loyal  and  moderate  policy  which  serves  as  an 
invariable  rule  for  the  actions  of  his  government." 

The  article  concluded  thus :  "  What  is  done  at 
Baden  will,  we  hope,  revive  confidence  in  a  safe  and 
prosperous  future  for  Europe,  and  at  the  same  time 
assure  one  of  the  essential  bases  of  that  future  :  the 
concurrence  of  Germany." 

At  this  time  Napoleon  III.  had  a  sort  of  predilec- 
tion for  Prussia  and  the  Prince  Regent.     A  nuance 


146  NAPOLEON  III 


of  etiquette  made  this  noticeable.  When  the  Prince 
came  to  pay  the  first  visit,  June  15,  he  was  received 
on  the  staircase  of  the  villa  Stephanie  by  the  sover- 
eign himself.  When  the  King  of  Wurtemberg,  the 
Duke  of  Saxe-Coburg-Gotha,  the  Kings  of  Saxony, 
Bavaria,  and  Hanover,  the  Duke  of  Nassau,  and  the 
Prince  of  Hohenzollern  called  the  following  day, 
they  were  met  at  the  door  by  a  chamberlain  and  an 
aide-de-camp  who  conducted  them  to  the  Emperor's 
apartments  and  announced  them. 

Napoleon  III.  produced  a  good  impression  on  the 
assembled  sovereigns  during  this  visit.  They  all 
appreciated  his  very  kindly  expression,  his  politeness, 
and  charming  simplicity  of  manner.  He  proved 
himself  a  brilliant  talker  and  an  invariably  good- 
tempered  one.  All  pleased  themselves  with  hoping 
that  he  cherished  no  dark  designs  on  Germany. 

Napoleon  III.  returned  to  Fontainebleau,  where  he 
had  left  the  Empress  and  the  Prince  Imperial  on  the 
18th  of  June.  On  the  following  day  the  Moniteur 
said;  "The  rapid  journey  just  made  by  the  Emperor 
will  doubtless  have  fortunate  results.  Nothing  but 
the  spontaneity  of  so  significant  a  proceeding  was 
required  to  stifle  a  unanimous  concert  of  malevolent 
rumors  and  unfounded  criticisms.  In  fact,  the  Em- 
peror, by  going  to  Baden  to  explain  frankly  to  the 
sovereigns  there  assembled  that  his  policy  will  never 
deviate  from  right  and  justice,  must  have  conveyed 
to  minds  so  distinguished  and  so  devoid  of  prejudices 
the  conviction  which  a  real  sentiment,  honestly  ex- 


THE  INTERVIEW  OF  BADEN  147 

plained,  never  fails  to  inspire.  Hence  something 
more  than  courtesy  entered  into  the  reciprocal  rela- 
tions of  this  august  assembly." 

The  Baden  interview  was  favorably  estimated  in 
Paris.  The  Bourse  greeted  the  return  of  the  sover- 
eign by  a  great  rise  in  prices. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

THE  SYRIAN  MASSACRES 

rpiHE  death  of  the  Emperor's  uncle,  King  Jerome 
Bonaparte,  occurred  June  18,  1860,  and  his  fu- 
neral obsequies  were  celebrated  at  the  chapel  of  the 
Invalides  with  royal  pomp  on  July  3.  A  few  days 
later,  the  public  mind  was  greatly  occupied  by  news 
from  Syria,  where  frightful  massacres  had  just  taken 
place.  The  Christian  religion  also  had  received  most 
cruel  injuries  in  the  land  of  its  birth,  and  further 
catastrophes  were  impending. 

The  massacres  began  in  the  mountains  of  Libanus, 
and  their  cause  seemed  attributable  to  the  mistakes 
made  by  European  diplomacy.  It  had  been  a  very 
ill-advised  proceeding  on  the  part  of  its  agents  to 
undertake  to  secure  peace  between  the  Maronites 
and  Druses  by  assigning  to  each  of  these  races  and 
religions  a  distinct  administration,  after  Syria  had 
been  taken  by  force  in  1840  from  the  energetic  dom- 
ination of  Mehemet  Ali,  Viceroy  of  Egypt.  The 
diplomats  had  forgotten  that  the  Druses  and  Maro- 
nites, though  separate  from  the  ethnographic  and 
religious  point  of  view,  are  not  always  so  in  the 
space  they  occupy.     In  many  villages  the  popula- 

148 


THE  SYRIAN  MASSACRES  149 

tions  are  mixed.  Instead  of  maintaining  peace,  the 
distinct  administrations  were  bound  to  multiply  the 
causes  of  animosity  and  disputes. 

The  Porte,  which  aimed  at  destroying  the  arrange- 
ment of  1845  in  order  to  make  a  simple  pashalik  of 
Mount  Lebanon,  promoted  disorder  itself.  Divid- 
ing to  reign,  it  adopted  the  Machiavellian  policy  of 
setting  the  Maronites  and  Druses  mutually  by  the 
ears.  Seconded  in  this  work  by  the  English  agents, 
jealous  of  French  influence  and  hostile  to  the  Maro- 
nites, who,  like  all  the  Eastern  Christians,  were  pro- 
teges of  France,  it  systematically  organized  disorder 
and  anarchy. 

There  had  been  an  underground  disturbance  going 
on  in  the  Libanus  for  several  years,  not  merely  in 
the  mixed  community,  but  in  the  Christian  lieuten- 
ancy, where  struggles  had  occurred  between  the 
Turkish  lieutenant,  the  sheiks,  the  clergy,  and  the 
peasants.  In  August,  1859,  the  first  fight  occurred 
in  the  village  of  Beit-Meri. 

M.  Jules  Perrette,  who  witnessed  the  Syrian 
massacres  in  1860,  has  thus  explained  the  situation: 
"  What  in  reality  are  these  bitter  adversaries  ? 
Peasants  of  patriarchal  manners,  each  of  whom 
owns  a  house  and  an  orchard.  To  disturb  their 
peace  a  third  party,  interested  in  their  common  ruin, 
was  essential ;  whereas  the  slightest  intervention  of 
a  well-meaning  government,  even  were  it  as  feeble 
as  that  of  the  Turkish  Empire,  would  have  been 
enough  to  prevent  trouble.     Nothing  was  required 


150  NAPOLEON  III 


to  avert  any  serious  collision  but  that  the  pashas  of 
Damascus  and  Beyrout  should  confine  themselves  to 
preventing  both  parties  from  coming  to  buy  arms 
and  powder  in  either  of  these  two  cities,  and  should 
be  furnished  with  at  most  two  thousand  men  ready 
to  go  into  the  mountains  at  the  first  sign  of  disturb- 
ance." 

Instead  of  this,  what  does  the  Turkish  govern- 
ment do  ?  It  had  long  been  exciting  the  two  races 
against  each  other,  favoring  the  Druses  and  permit- 
ting them  to  get  ready  for  massacres.  Now,  while 
these  remain  at  liberty  all  winter  to  provide  them- 
selves with  arms  and  ammunition,  government  pre- 
vents the  Maronites  from  leaving  the  towns  with 
their  ordinary  weapons,  without  which  no  prudent 
man  would  even  dream  at  any  time  of  stirring  a 
step. 

The  preparations  of  the  Druses  are  complete. 
Thereupon  the  government  hastily  withdraws  all 
the  regular  troops  from  Syria,  leaving  Damascus, 
the  capital,  a  city  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
souls,  under  guard  of  three  hundred  soldiers,  and 
such  soldiers  !  The  consuls  rage  and  protest.  They 
are  tricked  by  evasive  and  dilatory  answers. 

The  great  conspiracy  comes  to  a  head  May  29, 
1860.  The  attack  on  the  Christians  begins  at  the 
little  town  of  Beit-Meri,  some  leagues  from  Beyrout, 
and  thence  extends  to  all  the  Meton.  Thirty-two 
villages  are  burned  in  three  days  amidst  scenes  of 
cruel   atrocity.       Horrible   massacres   make    Sayda, 


THE  SYRIAN  MASSACRES  151 

Rascheya,  Hasbeya,  Zahle,  and  Deir-el-Kamar  stream 
with  blood.  The  Turkish  soldiers  retire  into  their 
barracks  instead  of  assailing  the  cut-throats,  and 
refuse  shelter  there  to  victims  who  implore  their 
pity.  Authority  is  either  helpless  or  else  playing 
the  accomplice  in  every  quarter.  At  Deir-el-Kamar, 
where  the  massacre  and  pillage  lasted  from  noon  to 
sundown,  the  soldiers  kept  for  themselves  four-fifths 
of  the  booty  (June  21,  1860).  The  horrors  com- 
mitted would  be  incredible,  were  they  not  vouched 
for,  not  merely  by  French  testimony,  but  by  the 
reports  of  the  English,  the  political  protectors  of  the 
Druses. 

The  Christian  populations  are  seized  with  terror, 
and,  abandoning  their  villages  at  the  risk  of  being 
killed  on  the  highways,  flee  toward  Beyrout  and 
Damascus.  Many  perish  on  the  road.  At  Damas- 
cus they  crowd  pell-mell  into  the  buildings  of  the 
Greek  patriarchate,  the  churches,  and  the  khans. 
The  streets  swarm  with  mendicants.  All  the  Chris- 
tians of  the  city  are  mad  with  fright,  remembering 
the  tragedies  of  Marach,  Aleppo,  and  Djeddah. 
They  live  from  day  to  day,  from  hour  to  hour,  in 
expectation  of  a  frightful  drama,  a  general  massacre. 
It  is  no  longer  possible  to  escape  the  catastrophe  by 
flight.  No  road  is  safe.  The  neighborhood  is  full 
of  brigands  and  Druses. 

Amidst  this  dreadful  crisis  there  is  one  Mussul- 
man who  distinguishes  himself  by  his  humanity,  who 
does  his  duty,  and  more  than  his  duty.     This  is  the 


152  NAPOLEON  III 


former  adversary  of  the  French,  the  Algerian  hero, 
the  Emir  Abd-el-Kader.  Shortly  before  ascending 
the  throne,  Napoleon  III.  went  to  the  chateau  of 
Amboise,  in  October,  1852,  and  restoring  the  Emir 
to  liberty,  said  to  him  :  "  You  have  been  the  enemy 
of  France,  but  I  do  justice  none  the  less  to  your 
courage  and  your  patience  in  misfortune ;  and  that 
is  why  I  consider  it  an  honor  to  put  an  end  to  your 
captivity,  having  perfect  confidence  in  your  parole." 
Ever  since  that  time,  Abd-el-Kader  had  found  an 
asylum  in  Damascus,  where  he  lived  at  the  head  of 
many  Algerians.  When  the  hour  comes  to  show  his 
gratitude  to  Napoleon  III.,  his  admirable  conduct 
proves  that  it  is  deeply  felt. 

Read  this  letter,  written  at  Damascus  July  2,  a 
week  before  the  grand  massacre :  "  While  the  au- 
thorities maintain  an  inexplicable  inactivity,  the 
Emir  Abd-el-Kader  is  constantly  at  work  among 
the  ulemas,  the  notables,  and  chiefs  of  the  different 
quarters  to  prevent  the  evils  by  which  the  Christians 
are  threatened.  One  may  say  that  his  energy  and 
eloquence  have  saved  the  city  twice  already,  for  a 
movement  has  twice  been  on  the  point  of  breaking 
out,  and  it  is  he  who  averted  it.  .  .  .  He  watches 
over  the  general  safety  night  and  day,  and  gives  in- 
cessant proofs  of  personal  abnegation  and  loyalty  to 
the  cause  whose  defence  he  has  so  nobly  under- 
taken." 

But  Abd-el-Kader  multiplies  his  generous  efforts 
in  vain.     The  Turkish  authority  has  decided  on  the 


THE  SYRIAN  MASSACRES  153 

massacre,  and  it  will  take  place.  It  breaks  out, 
July  9,  with  unheard-of  fury  and  atrocity.  There 
are  neither  Druses  nor  Maronites  among  the  popula- 
tion of  Damascus ;  Mussulman  fanaticism  is  solely 
responsible  for  the  catastrophe.  Horrible  scenes, 
inconceivable  refinements  of  cruelty,  occur.  Such 
Christian  females  as  are  spared  are  taken  to  the 
harems.  Blood  flows  in  torrents.  The  bashi-bazouks 
and  the  police  rob  and  murder  instead  of  preserving 
order.  The  Russian  consulate  is  the  first  to  be 
attacked ;  then  comes  the  turn  of  the  vice-consulates 
of  Belgium,  Holland,  and  America.  The  dragoman 
of  the  Russian  consulate  is  assassinated,  the  Ameri- 
can vice-consul  seriously  wounded.  Achmet  Pasha 
takes  no  measures  whatever  to  arrest  the  scourge. 
The  Fathers  of  the  Holy  Land  refuse  to  leave  their 
convent  and  are  all  put  to  death  inside  its  walls. 
All  the  religious  establishments  are  first  pillaged  and 
then  burned.  For  six  days  the  massacres  go  on. 
But  for  the  generous  intervention  of  Abd-el-Kader, 
all  the  Christians  would  have  perished.  A  squad  of 
some  twelve  hundred  Algerians  protected  and  opened 
a  passage  for  the  flying  consuls,  Lazarists,  and  Sisters 
of  Charity  who  found  shelter  in  the  house  of  the 
Emir. 

So  it  went  on :  after  the  Libanus,  Damascus ;  after 
the  Druses,  the  Turks.  It  began  to  be  a  question 
whether  Moslem  fanaticism,  excited  to  the  point  of 
madness,  were  not  on  the  point  of  annihilating  all 
the  Eastern  Christians. 


154  NAPOLEON  III 


Paris  learned  of  the  Damascus  massacres  by  the 
following  note  in  the  Moniteur  of  July  18 :  "  The 
Minister  of  Marine  has  received  the  following  des- 
patch from  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  Levant 
naval  division :  '  Beyrout,  July  14.  —  The  attack  on 
the  Christians  began  at  Damascus  on  the  afternoon 
of  July  9.  By  evening  many  men  had  been  killed 
and  women  taken  to  the  harems.  It  is  said  that  all 
the  consulates  were  burned  except  the  English  one. 
The  French,  Russian,  and  Greek  consuls  took  shelter 
at  the  house  of  Abd-el-Kader.  The  action  of  the 
Turkish  authorities  at  Damascus  has  been  null,  and, 
as  always,  more  harmful  than  helpful.  Three  thou- 
sand Turkish  soldiers  arrived  to-day  on  a  vessel  and 
two  Turkish  frigates.  Vely  and  Namich  Pasha,  the 
commissioners,  are  impatiently  expected.'' 

Islamism  knew  that  the  Emperor  of  the  French 
would  defend  the  Cross,  and  would  not  abandon 
the  venerable  traditions  which  made  the  Eldest 
Son  of  the  Church  the  protector  of  all  the  Oriental 
Christians.  Hence,  instead  of  justifying  the  massa- 
cres, the  Sultan  addressed  the  following  letter  to 
Napoleon  III.  :  "Palace  of  Dolma-Batche,  July  16.  — 
I  am  sure  your  Majesty  well  knows  with  what  sor- 
row I  have  learned  of  the  events  in  Syria.  Be  as- 
sured that  I  will  do  all  that  lies  in  my  power  to 
restore  order  and  security,  to  punish  the  guilty,  who- 
ever they  may  be,  and  to  do  justice  to  all.  In  order 
to  remove  all  doubt  concerning  the  intentions  of  my 
government,  I  shall  entrust  this  important  commis- 


THE  SYRIAN  MASSACRES  155 

sion  to  my  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  Fuad  Pasha, 
whose  principles  your  Majesty  is  well  acquainted 
with." 

July  20,  the  Moniteur  said,  "In  presence  of  the 
deplorable  events  of  which  Syria  is  the  scene,  and 
which  justly  cause  profound  emotion  in  Europe,  the 
Emperor's  government  has  felt  constrained  to  make 
its  impressions  known  to  other  cabinets  and  to  the 
Porte,  and  to  urge  the  adoption  in  common  of  the 
measures  demanded  by  the  circumstances." 

Napoleon  III.  comprehended  that  the  initial  order 
given  to  the  squadrons,  to  put  their  vessels  at  the 
disposal  of  the  consuls,  did  not  permit  of  reaching 
the  insurrection  in  its  stronghold  in  the  interior  of 
the  Libanus  or  the  inland  towns,  already  invaded  or 
threatened,  and  that  nothing  but  a  body  of  troops, 
ready  to  act  according  to  circumstances,  would  be 
sufficient  for  the  task. 

Christianity  had  found  its  defender.  When  the 
late  massacres  in  Armenia  took  place,  all  Europe 
could  see  for  itself  how  greatly  it  lacked  the  initia- 
tive and  energy  of  a  Napoleon  III. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

SYRIA   AND   ENGLAND 

"^VTAPOLEON  III.  loved  chivalrous  causes.  To 
defend  the  oppressed  seemed  to  him  the 
noblest  attribute  of  power.  He  believed  in  the 
saying :  French  soldier,  God's  soldier ;  and  in 
the  antique  device  :  G-esta  Dei  per  Francos.  At 
a  moment  when  the  clergy  were  blaming  his  con- 
duct with  reference  to  Rome,  it  pleased  him  to 
send  his  troops  to  the  aid  of  the  Oriental  Chris- 
tians and  renew  the  glorious  traditions  of  the 
Crusades.  But  he  could  not  succeed  in  this  with- 
out offending  the  jealous  susceptibilities  of  Eng- 
land. He  needed  as  much  prudence  as  sang-froid 
to  triumph  over  the  opposition  of  the  Cabinet  of 
London  and  perform  a  work  of  mercy. 

It  is  not  easy  to  comprehend  the  unjust  suspicions 
which  England,  Prince  Albert,  and  even  Queen  Victo- 
ria nourished  in  1860  against  France  and  the  Emperor. 
Her  Britannic  Majesty  wrote  to  Leopold  I.,  King  of 
the  Belgians,  May  18  :  "  The  continual  agitation  of 
our  neighbor  and  the  rumors  that  are  in  circulation 
destroy  our  confidence.  Really,  it  is  altogether  too 
bad  !     No  country,  no  kingdom  in  the  world,  dreams 

166 


SYRIA   AND  ENGLAND  157 

of  attacking  France  ;  all  would  be  enchanted  to  see 
it  prosper,  but  it  is  bound  to  disturb  every  corner  of 
the  globe,  to  cause  confusion,  and  set  everybody  by 
the  ears.  Sooner  or  later  this  will  bring  about  a 
crusade  against  this  universal  perturber  of  the  peace." 
So,  after  the  confraternity  of  arms  in  China  and  the 
Crimea,  after  the  commercial  treaty,  after  so  many 
advances  made  to  England,  such  proofs  of  sympathy 
given  to  its  sovereign  and  its  government,  it  is  as  a 
universal  perturber  that  the  Queen  treats  her  best, 
most  loyal,  and  most  faithful  ally  ! 

It  was  natural  that  the  sending  of  French  troops 
to  Syria  should  awake  uneasiness  on  the  part  of  a 
nation  so  ill  disposed.  In  London  people  fancied 
that  the  Emperor's  plan  was  a  mere  cover  for 
designs  of  conquest  in  the  East,  and  Napoleon  III. 
had  the  greatest  difficulty  in  dispelling  such  illusions. 

France  had  not  the  slightest  wish  to  act  alone  in 
Syria.  She  asked  the  other  great  powers  to  join 
their  troops  to  hers.  M.  Thouvenel  wrote,  July  17, 
to  the  Comte  de  Persigny,  ambassador  of  France  at 
London  :  "The  combination  could  not  succeed  except 
in  concert  with  the  Porte,  and,  moreover,  it  would 
be  essential  that  it  should  be  the  result  of  an  evident 
agreement  between  the  five  courts.  The  interven- 
tion would  thus  be  collective  in  its  origin,  and  the 
European  troops,  sent  with  a  mutual  intention,  might 
simply  act  as  a  sort  of  delegation  from  the  powers." 

The  Porte,  on  the  other  hand,  strongly  opposed 
the   proposed   expedition    in   two  diplomatic   com- 


158  NAPOLEON  III 


munications  dated  July  20  and  July  26  :  "  Such  a 
measure,"  it  claimed,  "by  the  impression  it  must 
unavoidably  and  quickly  produce  on  the  Mussulmans 
and  Christians  of  other  parts  of  the  Empire,  would 
have  consequences  beyond  all  calculation  or  descrip- 
tion, and  its  efforts  to  protect  Christians  in  one  part 
of  the  Empire  would  thus  entail  great  bloodshed 
elsewhere."  Moreover,  the  Porte  claimed  that 
Fuad  Pasha  had  already  sufficient  troops  in  Syria 
for  the  restoration  of  order,  and  refused  to  send 
the  ambassador  all  the  powers  requisite  to  sign  a 
convention. 

Napoleon  III.,  thinking  himself  bound  to  make  a 
personal  attempt  to  dispel  British  suspicions,  wrote 
a  letter  from  Saint-Cloud,  July  29,  to  his  ambassador 
at  London,  in  which  he  insisted  more  strongly  than 
ever  upon  his  invincible  resolve  to  maintain  the 
English  alliance.  It  began  as  follows:  "My  dear 
Persigny :  Things  seem  to  be  in  such  a  state  of  con- 
fusion, thanks  to  the  distrust  so  widely  dissemi- 
nated since  the  war  of  Italy,  that  I  write  you  in 
hopes  that  a  perfectly  frank  conversation  with  Lord 
Palmerston  may  remedy  the  present  evil.  Lord 
Palmerston  knows  me,  and  when  I  affirm  a  thing 
he  will  believe  me.  Very  well,  you  may  tell  him 
from  me,  in  the  most  explicit  manner,  that,  since  the 
peace  of  Villafranca,  I  have  had  but  one  thought, 
one  end  in  view,  namely,  to  inaugurate  a  new  era 
of  peace  and  live  on  good  terms  with  my  neighbors, 
and  especially  with  England.    I  had  given  up  Savoy 


SYRIA  AND  ENGLAND  159 

and  Nice,  and  the  only  thing  that  revived  my  wish 
to  see  provinces  essentially  French  restored  to  France 
was  the  extraordinary  growth  of  Piedmont.  But, 
it  will  be  objected,  you  want  peace,  and  you  are 
increasing  the  forces  of  France  beyond  all  measure! 
I  deny  the  fact  in  every  particular." 

The  Emperor  added  that  there  was  nothing  in  his 
army  or  navy  which  should  disquiet  anybody.  His 
steamships  were  not  nearly  so  numerous  as  the  sail- 
ing vessels  deemed  necessary  in  the  time  of  King 
Louis  Philippe.  He  had  400,000  men  under  arms, 
but  when  one  subtracted  from  this  number  60,000 
in  Algeria,  6000  in  Rome,  8000  in  China,  20,000 
gendarmes,  the  sick  and  the  conscripts,  it  was  plain 
to  be  seen  that  the  regiments  had  an  effective 
greatly  reduced  from  that  of  the  previous  regime. 

Then  the  Emperor  broached  the  affairs  of  the 
Orient:  "When  La  Vallette  departed  for  Con- 
stantinople, the  instructions  I  gave  him  were 
limited  to  this :  Do  all  in  your  power  to  main- 
tain the  status  quo.  It  is  to  the  interest  of  France 
that  Turkey  shall  live  as  long  as  possible. 

"Now  come  the  massacres  of  Syria,  and  writers 
say  that  I  am  very  glad  to  find  another  occasion  for 
a  little  war,  and  for  playing  a  new  part.  Really, 
they  give  me  credit  for  very  little  common  sense. 

"  If  I  have  at  once  proposed  an  expedition,  it  is 
because  I  feel  like  the  people  who  have  placed  me 
at  their  head,  and  the  news  from  Syria  has  trans- 
ported me  with  indignation.     All  the  same,  my  first 


160  NAPOLEON  III 


thought  was  to  act  with  England.  What  interest 
save  that  of  humanity  could  induce  me  to  send 
troops  into  that  country?  Could  the  possession  of 
it  possibly  increase  my  power  ?  Can  I  avoid  seeing 
that  Algeria,  in  spite  of  its  advantages  in  the  future, 
is  as  yet  only  a  drain  on  France,  which  for  thirty 
years  has  been  giving  it  the  purest  of  its  blood  and 
its  money? 

"  I  should  be  very  glad  not  to  be  obliged  to  send 
an  expedition  to  Syria,  and,  in  any  case,  not  to  do  it 
alone;  in  the  first  place,  because  it  will  cost  a  great 
deal,  and  secondly,  because  I  am  afraid  this  inter- 
vention may  involve  the  question  of  the  Orient ; 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  I  do  not  see  how  I  am  to 
resist  the  public  opinion  of  my  country,  which  will 
never  understand  how  one  can  leave  unpunished,  not 
merely  the  murder  of  Christians,  but  the  burning 
of  our  consulates,  the  destruction  of  our  flag,  the 
pillage  of  monasteries  under  our  protection." 

Frankly  and  loyally  the  Emperor  held  out  his 
hand  to  England  and  desired  to  come  to  terms  with 
her,  not  only  in  Syria,  but  in  Italy.  "  It  has  been 
difficult  for  me,"  said  he,  "  to  agree  with  England  in 
reference  to  central  Italy,  because  I  was  bound  by 
the  treaty  of  Villafranca  ;  as  to  southern  Italy  I  am 
unpledged,  and  I  ask  nothing  better  than  to  act 
with  England  on  that  point,  as  on  others ;  but  for 
heaven's  sake,  let  the  eminent  men  at  the  head  of 
the  English  government  lay  aside  mean  jealousies 
and   unjust  suspicions.      Let  us   come   to   a  loyal 


SYRIA  AND  ENGLAND  161 

understanding  like  the  honest  men  we  are,  and  not 
act  like  thieves  who  want  to  cheat  each  other. 

"  I  desire  that  Italy  may  be  appeased,  no  matter 
how,  but  without  foreign  intervention,  and  that  my 
troops  may  leave  Rome  without  endangering  the 
safety  of  the  Pope." 

The  letter  ended  thus :  "  I  have  told  you  exactly 
what  I  think,  disguising  nothing  and  omitting  noth- 
ing. Make  what  use  of  my  letter  you  see  fit.  Believe 
in  my  sincere  friendship." 

The  imperial  letter  made  a  great  commotion  when 
published  in  the  English  papers.  Prince  Albert 
wrote  to  the  Prince  Regent  of  Prussia,  August  5  : 
"I  must  tell  you  that  M.  Thouvenel  immensely 
regrets  the  publicity  given  the  Emperor's  letter  to 
M.  de  Persigny  ;  he  is  afraid  that  it  will  injure  his 
Majesty  in  the  eyes  of  the  people,  and  that  it  in- 
cludes promises  it  may  be  difficult  to  keep."  Never- 
theless, the  Emperor  attained  his  object,  and  as  Sir 
Theodore  Martin  has  said  in  his  life  of  the  Prince 
Consort,  a  work  inspired  by  Queen  Victoria  and 
filled  with  documents  which  she  supplied,  "  Nothing 
afterward  occurred  in  the  Emperor's  relations  with 
England  to  contradict  the  language  of  this  remark- 
able and  clever  letter." 

Napoleon  III.  attained  his  ends.  The  five  great 
powers  and  the  Porte,  in  conference  at  Paris,  had 
come  to  an  agreement  on  all  the  points,  when,  at  the 
last  moment,  the  English  ambassador,  Lord  Cowley, 
received  from  his  government  the  singular  mission 


162  NAPOLEON  III 


to  request  that  the  execution  of  the  measures,  ur- 
gently called  for  by  the  perilous  condition  of  the 
Christians  of  Syria,  should  be  delayed  until  the  rep- 
resentatives of  the  powers  had  received  plenary 
powers  in  due  form,  and  the  ratifications  of  the 
arrangements  been  exchanged.  No  attention  was 
paid  to  this  request.  August  3,  a  protocol,  whose 
clauses  went  immediately  into  effect,  and  which  was 
transformed  into  a  convention  on  the  3d  of  Sep- 
tember following,  was  signed  at  Paris  at  the  Minis- 
try of  Foreign  Affairs.  It  stipulated  that  a  body  of 
European  troops,  which  might  amount  to  twelve 
thousand  men,  should  be  sent  to  Syria.  The 
French  government  agreed  to  provide  at  once  the 
moiety  of  these  troops.  General  de  Beaufort,  com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  expedition,  was  to  enter  into 
communication  as  soon  as  he  arrived  with  Fuad 
Pasha,  the  Sultan's  commissioner  in  Syria,  in  order 
to  concert  all  the  measures  demanded  by  the  circum- 
stances. The  high  contracting  parties,  declaring 
themselves  convinced  that  six  months  would  suffice 
to  attain  the  peaceful  settlement  they  had  in  view, 
set  that  limit  to  the  occupation  of  the  country  by 
the  European  troops. 

Treated  with  suspicion  in  London,  Napoleon  III. 
had  met  only  kindness  in  St.  Petersburg.  The  Due 
de  Montebello,  French  ambassador  in  Russia,  wrote  to 
M.  Thouvenel,  July  21  :  "  Prince  Gortchakoff  has 
made  no  difficulty  about  telling  me  that  whenever 
there  is  question  of  measures  for  the  protection  of 


SYRIA   AND   ENGLAND  163 

Christians,  Russia  will  always  be  ready  to  take  part 
in  them,  making  no  distinction  of  races  or  cults  ; 
also,  that  he  would  agree  to  my  propositions,  and 
would  see,  without  jealousy  and  with  confidence  and 
pleasure,  the  flag  of  France  floating  in  these  latitudes 
in  preference  to  any  other." 

Would  not  Napoleon  III.  have  been  better  inspired 
had  he  everywhere  and  always  preferred  the  Russian 
alliance  to  that  of  England  ? 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

THE  JOURNEY  IN  THE  SOUTHEAST 

/~^VF  all  the  imperial  journeys  under  the  reign  of 
^^  Napoleon  III.,  the  longest  and  most  successful 
was  that  made  in  1860  by  the  Emperor  and  the 
Empress  in  southeastern  France,  Corsica,  and  Al- 
geria. The  inhabitants  greeted  with  acclamations 
the  sovereign  who  came  after  his  victories  to  make 
a  peaceful  conquest.  The  people  of  the  three  Dew 
departments  distinguished  themselves  by  their  en- 
thusiasm, and  the  ovations  awarded  to  the  Emperor 
by  all  the  Arabs  definitively  consecrated  the  tri- 
umphs of  France  on  Algerian  soil. 

Leaving  Saint-Cloud,  August  23,  the  imperial 
party  arrived  at  Dijon  at  four  in  the  afternoon. 
From  the  railway  station,  where  it  was  met  by  the 
municipal  council  and  the  mayor,  M.  Vernier,  who 
presented  the  keys  of  the  city  to  the  Emperor,  the 
cortege  passed  on  to  the  cathedral.  The  bishop, 
Monseigneur  Rivet,  surrounded  by  his  clergy,  came 
out  into  the  open  space  in  front  of  the  church  to 
receive  their  Majesties ;  in  his  address  he  said : 
"Heaven  grant,  Sire,  that  your  faithful  piety  may 
yet  be  permitted  to  banish  from  the  patrimony  of 
St.  Peter  the  raging  waves  which  threaten  it,  and  to 

164 


THE  JOURNEY  IN   THE  SOUTHEAST  165 

guarantee  to  our  chief,  to  our  father  in  the  faith, 
the  sacred  principality  which  twelve  centuries  have 
given  him.  This  is  your  Majesty's  wish,  we  know, 
and  it  is  also  ours.  God,  to  whom  we  are  about  to 
pray,  will,  I  hope,  grant  to  you,  Sire,  this  new  and 
very  great  glory,  and  to  us  this  immense  consolation." 
Reaching  Lyons  in  the  evening  of  August  24,  their 
Majesties  went  the  next  day  to  the  Palace  of  Arts 
and  then  to  the  Palace  of  Commerce,  which  they 
inaugurated.  M.  Brosset,  President  of  the  Lyons 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  made  an  address,  to  which 
the  Emperor  replied  as  follows :  "  I  thank  you  for 
the  manner  in  which  you  appreciate  my  efforts  to 
increase  the  prosperity  of  France.  Occupied  solely 
with  the  general  interests  of  the  country,  I  disdain 
everything  which  can  impede  their  development. 
Hence  the  unjust  suspicions  excited  beyond  our 
frontiers,  and  the  exaggerated  alarms  of  the  self- 
regarding  interests  of  the  interior,  find  me  equally 
insensible.  Nothing  will  make  me  deviate  from  the 
path  of  moderation  and  justice  which  I  have  hitherto 
pursued,  and  which  maintains  France  at  that  height 
of  greatness  and  prosperity  which  Providence  has 
assigned  it  in  this  world.  Devote  yourselves  confi- 
dently, then,  to  the  labors  of  peace  ;  our  destinies 
are  in  our  own  hands.  In  Europe,  France  gives  the 
impulsion  of  all  great  and  glorious  ideas ;  it  is  only 
when  it  degenerates  that  it  is  subjected  to  the  influ- 
ence of  bad  ones,  and  be  confident  that,  with  God's 
help,  it  will  not  degenerate  under  my  dynasty." 


166  NAPOLEON  III 


August  27  the  imperial  party  quitted  Lyons  for 
Chambery.      The    Savoyard    city    draped    all    its 
windows   with   flags,   and   gave   its   new   sovereign 
the  most  cordial  reception.     From  the  station  their 
Majesties  went  to  the  cathedral,  where  a  Te  Deum 
was  chanted  with  great  solemnity,  and  then  to  the 
Old  Chateau,  where  they  took  up  their  residence. 
On  the  following  day,  two  Piedmontese,  M.  Farini, 
Minister  of  the  Interior,  and  General  Cialdini,  dined 
with  their  Majesties,  the  one  sitting  at  the  left,  the 
other   at  the  right  hand,  of  the  Empress.     People 
supposed  they  had  no  other  mission  than  that  of 
saluting  the  Emperor  in  the  name  of  Victor  Emman- 
uel.    They  had  a  much  more  important  one.     They 
came  to  ask  secretly  an  authorization  for  the  Pied- 
montese to  invade   the  Marches  and  Umbria,  and 
brought  with  them   an  autograph  letter   from  the 
King  deliberated  on  in  a  ministerial  council.     The 
two   envoys  told   the  Emperor   that  troubles  were 
impending    in    the    two    provinces,    that    the    road 
thither  must  be  barred  to  Garibaldi,  and  that  the 
best  way  to  maintain  order  would  be  to  have  them 
occupied  by  the  army  of  the  King.     It  is  claimed 
that   Napoleon   III.    must    have    said    mysteriously 
to  M.   Farini  and    General  Cialdini :  "  Fate  presto. 
Do   it,  but  be  quick  about   it."      What  is  certain 
is    that   within    a    few   days    this    phrase,   true    or 
false,  was   repeated   throughout  Italy.      It   is  also 
incontestable  that  all  that  was  necessary  to  prevent 
the  invasion  of   the    Pontifical  States  was  a  single 


THE  JOURNEY  IN   THE  SOUTHEAST  167 

word  from  Napoleon  III.,  and  this  word  he  did  not 
say. 

Arriving  at  Grenoble,  September  5,  their  Majesties 
went  at  once  to  the  cathedral.  Receiving  them,  the 
bishop,  Monseigneur  Ginouilhac,  said  :  "  It  is  a  great 
consolation  for  us  to  see  that  wherever  in  the  world 
there  is  a  just  and  holy  cause,  the  flag  of  France  is 
raised  to  support  or  avenge  it.  Your  armies,  Sire, 
in  the  extreme  Orient,  are  serving  the  sacred  inter- 
ests of  Christian  civilization.  On  the  throne  which 
they  have  reestablished  they  are  protecting  the  greatly 
menaced  security  of  the  Head  of  the  Church,  and  in 
a  land  illustrious  through  the  greatest  of  memories, 
they  are  avenging  the  nameless  outrages  committed 
against  religion  and  humanity." 

Making  a  triumphal  entry  at  Avignon,  September 
7,  their  Majesties  likewise  paid  their  first  visit  to  the 
cathedral  of  Notre-Dame-de-Doms,  situated  on  a  rock 
to  the  north  of  the  ancient  palace  of  the  Popes.  Here 
they  were  addressed  as  follows  by  Archbishop  Debe- 
lay  :  "  Sire,  the  glories  of  France  are  one  and  insep- 
arable, and  you  have  tried  them  all,  since  they  are 
added  like  rays  to  your  own  greatness.  It  is  not 
France  alone,  but  the  whole  Catholic  world  which 
will  be  thrilled  when  it  hears  of  your  promise  that 
the  first  architect  of  our  day  shall  restore  our  ancient 
palace  of  the  Popes,  enhance  its  majesty,  and  revive 
its  glory.  If  our  religious  convictions  are  alarmed 
by  the  attacks  made  on  the  temporal  domain  of  the 
Sovereign  Pontiff,  if  our  hearts  are  troubled  by  the 


168  NAPOLEON  III 


sorrows  which  afflict  that  of  Pius  IX.,  who  may  not 
hope  when  beholding  the  same  hand  that  protects 
his  throne  in  the  Eternal  City  restoring  the  vener- 
ated asylum  of  his  predecessors  in  our  temporary 
Rome,  that  France  and  its  sovereign,  true  to  their 
traditional  mission,  and  nobly  jealous  of  their  purest 
glory,  are  to-day,  as  in  the  past,  destined  by  Provi- 
dence to  accomplish  all  things  in  justice  and  peace  ?  " 

At  half -past  five  in  the  afternoon  of  September  8, 
their  Majesties  arrived  at  Marseilles.  Before  the 
day  was  over  the  Emperor  received  the  important 
telegram  subjoined  :  — 

"  The  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  to  the  Emperor,  at 
Marseilles :  — 

"  Paris,  8  September,  1860.  —  I  hasten  to  transmit 
to  the  Emperor  the  following  despatch,  just  received 
from  Turin :  — 

'"The  Cabinet  of  Turin  is  sending  a  note  to 
Cardinal  Antonelli  to  declare  that  if  the  Holy 
See  does  not  disband  the  foreign  troops,  the  Sar- 
dinian army  will  enter  the  Marches  and  Umbria  to 
occupy  those  provinces.  According  to  M.  Cavour, 
the  Piedmontese  government,  being  unable  to  stop 
the  progress  of  Garibaldi  either  at  Naples  or  in  the 
Romagna,  ought  to  oppose  a  barrier  against  him 
near  the  Abruzzi,  and  also  prevent  Lamoriciere's 
army  from  butchering  the  insurgent  populations. 

" '  Rayneval.' 

"The  resolution  taken  by  the  Sardinian  govern- 
ment is  extremely  grave.     It  attacks  the  very  prin- 


THE  JOURNEY  IN  THE  SOUTHEAST  169 

ciple  of  our  occupation  at  Rome,  and  constitutes  the 
most  flagrant  and  least  justifiable  violation  of  the 
rights  of  sovereignty. 

"  I  beg  the  Emperor  to  reflect  that  Europe  will 
not  understand  how  so  exorbitant  a  measure  can  be 
taken  without  our  consent,  and  that  our  relations 
with  all  the  continental  powers,  Russia  included, 
will  be  seriously  affected  by  it." 

M.  Thouvenel  was  exasperated  by  "the  monstrous 
news  "  —  the  expression  is  his  own.  He  wrote  to 
the  Due  de  Gramont  :  "  I  think  I  never  in  my  life 
experienced  such  indignation  !  Such  a  complete 
violation  of  all  rights,  palliated  by  sophisms  so 
imprudent,  is  utterly  beyond  my  comprehension." 
He  feared  that  the  Emperor  might  have  been  in- 
duced to  say  something  to  M.  Farini,  at  Chambery, 
which  was  calculated  to  encourage  M.  Cavour's 
audacity.  Singularly  disturbed  and  anxious,  he 
wanted  to  relieve  his  mind.  That  was  why  he  asked 
by  telegraph  the  Emperor's  permission  to  go  to  Mar- 
seilles and  discuss  the  situation  with  him.  The 
sovereign  replied  by  the  following  telegram  :  — 

"  Marseilles,  September  8,  1860.  —  I  would  have 
been  charmed  to  see  you  here ;  but  I  think  the  ques- 
tions are  so  clear  that  they  do  not  require  a  long  ex- 
amination. ...  If  Austria  is  unjustly  attacked,  I 
will  not  defend  Piedmont ;  but  if,  after  a  victory, 
Austria  violates  the  treaty  of  Villafranca,  I  will 
defend  Piedmont.  As  to  the  latter,  I  wish  to  write 
as  follows  to  the  King  :  '  I  am  obliged  to  acquaint 


170  NAPOLEON  III 


you  with  my  intentions  :  if,  as  M.  Farini  said,  your 
troops  do  not  enter  the  Papal  States  until  after  an 
insurrection  and  for  the  purpose  of  restoring  order, 
I  have  nothing  to  say ;  but  if  you  attack  the  States 
of  the  Church  while  my  troops  are  in  Rome,  I  shall 
be  forced  to  withdraw  my  minister  from  Turin  and 
intervene  as  antagonist.' 

"  If  you  approve  of  this  language,  write  Talley- 
rand to  come  to  Nice,  and  I  will  give  him  my  letter. " 

The  Emperor  received  this  despatch  from  his 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  the  following  day :  — 

"Paris,  September  9,  1860. — I  am  glad  to  find 
myself  in  complete  accord  with  the  ideas  and  reso- 
lutions of  the  Emperor.  I  am  about  to  write 
Talleyrand  to  go  to  Nice,  but  I  must  remind  your 
Majesty  that  after  the  sending  of  Cavour's  note  to 
Rome  there  is  no  time  to  lose. 

"  Haste  is  all  the  more  necessary  because  King 
Victor  Emmanuel  expects  to  start  at  once  for 
Florence  and  Bologna.  Therefore  I  beg  the  Em- 
peror to  allow  me  to  send  this  very  day  the  fol- 
lowing telegram  to  Turin :  '  Declare  officially  to 
M.  Cavour,  in  the  Emperor's  name,  that  if  we  are 
not  given  an  assurance  that  the  note  addressed  to 
Cardinal  Antonelli  will  be  followed  by  no  disagree- 
able consequences,  and  that  the  Sardinian  army  will 
not  attack  the  pontifical  troops,  our  diplomatic 
relations  with  the  Cabinet  at  Turin  will  be  instantly 
broken,  and  France  will  place  itself  in  antagonism 
with  a  policy  which,  in  behalf  of  its  own  dignity, 


THE  JOURNEY  IN  THE  SOUTHEAST  171 

the  repose  of  Europe  and  the  future  of  Europe,  it 
would  no  longer  be  sufficient  to  disavow.' 

"I  am  going  to  consult  M.  de  Gramont  on  the 
return  of  General  de  Goyon  from  Rome,  and  to 
request  him  to  advise  the  Pope  not  to  accept  the 
fragments  of  the  Neapolitan  army  which  the  King 
of  Naples  may  be  tempted  to  offer  him  in  order  to 
link  his  own  cause  with  that  of  the  Holy  See." 

On  his  side,  during  the  same  day,  Napoleon  ad- 
dressed this  despatch  to  M.  Thouvenel :  "Marseilles, 
September  9,  1860.  —  The  serious  tidings  you  have 
sent  me  have  necessitated  the  following  despatch 
which  I  am  sending  to  the  King  of  Sardinia  :  '  Your 
Majesty  knows  how  devoted  I  am  to  the  cause  of 
Italian  independence ;  but  I  am  unable  to  approve 
the  means  now  being  employed  to  secure  it,  for  these 
means  are  opposed  to  the  end  that  we  propose.  If  it  is 
true  that  without  legitimate  cause  the  troops  of  your 
Majesty  are  entering  the  Papal  States,  I  shall  be  forced 
to  oppose  it.  I  am  giving  orders  this  very  day  to 
increase  the  garrison  at  Rome.  M.  Farini  had 
explained  your  Majesty's  policy  to  me  very  dif- 
ferently !  Nevertheless,  I  beg  to  renew  all  the  ex- 
pressions of  my  friendship.' 

"  It  is  absolutely  necessary  to  reinforce  the  garri- 
son at  Rome  and  to  recall  General  de  Goyon. 

"  The  Due  de  Gramont  must  yield  to  circum- 
stances." 

September  10,  their  Majesties  embarked  at  Mar- 
seilles on  the  imperial  yacht,  VAigle,  and  went  to 


172  NAPOLEON  III 


Ciotat  to  see  the  launching  of  a  large  transatlantic 
steamer  to  which  the  company  had  given  the  name 
V  ImpSratrice. 

In  the  evening  a  banquet  was  given  by  the  mer- 
chants of  Marseilles  in  the  new  palace  of  the  Bourse. 
Two  hundred  and  fifty  persons  had  been  invited,  and 
all  the  upper  and  lower  galleries  were  filled  with 
ladies  and  guests.  The  Emperor  responded  as  fol- 
lows to  the  address  of  the  president  of  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce,  M.  Pastre  :  — 

"  The  unanimous  demonstrations  of  attachment  we 
have  received  since  the  commencement  of  our  jour- 
ney touch  me  profoundly,  but  cannot  make  me  proud, 
for  my  sole  merit  has  been  to  have  entire  faith  in 
the  divine  protection,  as  well  as  in  the  patriotism 
and  good  sense  of  the  French  people.  .  .  .  Let  us 
do  all  in  our  power  to  develop  the  resources  of  our 
country  :  the  labors  of  peace  seem  to  me  to  produce 
crowns  as  beautiful  as  those  of  the  laurel." 

The  sovereign  excited  transports  of  Marseillaise 
enthusiasm  when  he  added:  "In  the  future  of  gran- 
deur and  prosperity  I  dream  of  for  France,  Marseilles 
holds  a  great  place  by  its  energy  and  the  intelligence 
of  its  inhabitants  as  well  as  by  its  geographical  posi- 
tion. In  proximity  with  the  military  post  of  Toulon, 
it  seems  to  represent  on  these  shores  the  presiding 
genius  of  France,  holding  an  olive  branch  in  one  hand 
but  conscious  of  a  sword  at  its  side.  May  it  reign  in 
peace,  this  Phocian  city,  through  the  gentle  influences 
of  commerce ;    may  its  multiplied  relations  civilize 


THE  JOURNEY  IN  THE  SOUTHEAST         173 

barbaric  nations;  may  it  induce  European  peoples 
to  come  and  meet  each  other  on  the  poetic  shores  of 
this  sea,  and  to  bury  in  its  depths  the  jealous  blunders 
of  another  age ;  in  a  word,  may  Marseilles  ever  appear 
as  I  now  see  it,  on  a  level,  that  is  to  say,  with  the 
destinies  of  France,  and  then  one  of  my  dearest  wishes 
will  be  fulfilled.     I  drink  to  the  city  of  Marseilles  !  " 

The  sovereigns  sailed  for  Toulon  immediately  after 
the  banquet,  arriving  there  at  ten  o'clock  the  next 
morning.  In  the  evening  they  took  ship  for  Nice. 
All  the  vessels  in  the  roadstead  were  illuminated,  all 
the  sailors  were  on  the  yards.  When  the  imperial 
flotilla  passed  out  of  the  harbor,  salvos  of  artillery 
were  fired  from  all  the  forts,  and  the  fireworks  sent 
up  from  the  mole  of  the  old  port  added  brilliance  to 
the  scene. 

On  that  very  day,  grave  events  had  occurred  in 
Italy.  The  Piedmontese  troops  had  invaded  pontifi- 
cal territory  and  occupied  Umbria  and  the  Marches. 

Embarrassed  by  the  language  he  had  used  to 
M.  Farini,  with  which  M.  Thouvenel  was  unac- 
quainted, the  Emperor  was  probably  not  ill  pleased 
to  be  away  from  Paris  and  far  from  his  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs.  The  despatches  crossed  each  other. 
The  distance,  and  the  possibly  wilful  ambiguity  of 
the  terms,  increased  the  embarrassments  of  the 
French  diplomatists.  As  for  the  Empress,  the  news 
from  Italy  disquieted  her  profoundly,  and  dimmed 
the  splendors  of  a  journey  which  had  seemed  trium- 
phant. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

NICE 

September  12.  —  The  sovereigns  have  been  sailing 
all  night.  They  land  at  Villafranca  at  ten  in  the 
morning,  and  go  from  there  in  a  carriage  to  Nice. 
They  cross  the  five  kilometres  of  mountains  which 
separate  the  two  cities  amidst  the  acclamations  of 
those  who  live  along  the  route.  The  inhabitants  of 
neighboring  places  have  come  in  procession,  pre- 
ceded by  banners.  The  whole  of  the  new  French 
department  of  the  Maritime  Alps  desires  to  testify 
its  sympathy  to  the  monarch  who  brought  about  the 
annexation. 

The  first  visit  of  their  Majesties  is  to  the  cathe- 
dral. In  receiving  them,  Monseigneur  Sola,  Bishop 
of  Nice,  says  :  "  We,  ministers  of  the  sanctuary,  who 
gave  ourselves  to  your  glorious  Empire  five  months 
ago  with  the  most  lively  and  ardent  impulse,  acclaim 
you,  Sire,  by  a  double  title,  as  the  benefactor  of  the 
people,  and  as  the  most  powerful  defender  of  religion 
and  the  social  order.  Sire,  the  eyes  of  all  men  of 
order  are  turned  toward  you.  Sovereign  of  the 
nation  by  which  God  causes  His  will  to  be  done, 
Eldest  Son  of  the  Church,  successor  of  Pepin  and  of 
Charlemagne,  save  Christian  society  by  efficaciously 

174 


NIC E  175 

protecting  the  Church  on  which  it  rests.  You  are 
the  heart,  the  head,  the  arm  of  France.  ...  Be  the 
joy  of  the  Church,  as  you  already  are  the  happiness, 
the  glory,  and  the  love  of  France." 

Their  Majesties  go  to  the  palace  ceded  by  Victor 
Emmanuel  and  there  receive  the  authorities.  On  the 
following  day  they  go  to  the  Var  bridge.  The 
Emperor  orders  the  construction  of  a  dike  which  will 
restore  some  fifteen  hundred  acres  of  good  ground  to 
agriculture.  For  this  work  he  grants  three  hundred 
thousand  francs,  and  a  like  sum  for  the  shore  road 
between  Nice  and  Villafranca.  During  the  day, 
Napoleon  III.  receives  Baron  de  Talleyrand,  Minis- 
ter of  France  at  Turin,  summoned  to  Nice  to  receive 
the  instructions  of  his  sovereign. 

Born  November  28,  1821,  this  diplomatist  has 
been  successively  secretary  at  Lisbon,  Madrid,  and 
St.  Petersburg,  minister  at  Vienna  and  Carlsruhe, 
commissioner  of  the  French  government  in  the 
Danubian  Principalities,  and  succeeded  the  Prince 
de  La  Tour  d'Auvergne  at  Turin  in  1859.  Like 
his  predecessor,  he  belongs  to  the  old  school  of 
diplomacy,  and  consequently  is  the  avowed  adversary 
of  Count  Cavour.  The  Emperor  knows  this  very 
well,  and  yet  has  kept  him  at  his  post,  it  being  one 
of  his  ways  to  entrust  the  principal  embassies  and 
legations  to  men  who  do  not  coincide  in  his  ideas, 
for  instance,  the  Due  de  Gramont  at  Rome,  and  the 
Due  de  Montebello  at  St.  Petersburg. 

Baron   de   Talleyrand   discusses  with   the   sover- 


176  NAPOLEON  III 


eign  the  events  which  preceded  the  invasion  of 
Umbria  and  the  Marches. 

M.  Farini  had  claimed  that  an  insurrection  was 
on  the  point  of  breaking  out  in  the  two  provinces, 
and  that  the  Piedmontese  troops  would  not  enter 
them  except  for  the  preservation  of  order.  Things 
did  not  happen  in  this  way  at  all.  There  was  not 
the  slightest  insurrection,  and  the  Cabinet  at  Turin 
had  to  invent  another  pretext. 

On  September  7,  Count  Cavour  had  sent  to 
Cardinal  Antonelli  an  ultimatum  absolutely  unjusti- 
fiable from  the  standpoint  of  the  law  of  nations. 
He  had  summoned  the  pontifical  government  to 
dismiss  the  volunteers,  alleging  that  "no  govern- 
ment has  the  right  to  abandon  to  the  caprice  of  a 
band  of  military  adventurers  the  property,  honor, 
and  lives  of  the  inhabitants  of  a  civilized  country." 

In  his  reply,  dated  September  11,  the  cardinal 
said :  "  We  were  not  aware  until  to-day  that  a 
government  was  forbidden  to  have  foreign  troops 
in  its  service,  especially  at  a  time  when  several 
European  States  have  them  in  their  pay.  And, 
while  on  this  point,  it  seems  to  me  opportune  to 
remark  that,  thanks  to  the  character  of  common 
father  of  all  the  faithful  with  which  the  Sovereign 
Pontiff  is  invested,  he,  less  than  any  other,  can  be 
forbidden  to  receive  among  his  troops  those  who 
come  from  the  different  parts  of  the  Catholic  world 
to  offer  their  services  to  defend  the  Holy  See  and 
the  States  of  the  Church." 


NICE  177 

The  reply  of  the  Cardinal  Secretary  of  State 
ended  as  follows:  "Your  Excellency  concludes 
his  ignoble  (^disgustosa)  communication  by  request- 
ing me,  in  the  name  of  his  sovereign,  to  order  at 
once  the  disarmament  and  dismission  of  the  troops 
in  question  ;  and  this  request  is  accompanied  by  a 
sort  of  threat  announcing  that,  in  the  contrary  case, 
Piedmont  will  arrest  their  action  by  means  of  the 
royal  troops.  Here  a  sort  of  intimation  makes  itself 
manifest  which  I  most  willingly  abstain  from  qualify- 
ing. The  Holy  See  cannot  do  otherwise  than  repel 
it  with  indignation,  for  it  knows  itself  strong  in  its 
legitimate  right,  and  appeals  from  it  to  the  law  of 
nations  under  whose  segis  Europe  has  lived  until 
to-day,  no  matter  to  what  unprovoked  outrages  it 
may  be  exposed  in  consequence  and  against  which 
it  is  now  my  duty  to  protest  strongly  in  the  name 
of  the  Holy  See." 

That  very  day,  September  11,  Victor  Emmanuel 
addressed  the  following  proclamation  to  his  army : 
"  Soldiers,  you  enter  the  Marches  and  Umbria  to 
reestablish  civil  order  in  the  ravaged  cities,  and 
to  give  the  inhabitants  liberty  to  express  their 
wishes.  You  have  not  to  contend  with  powerful 
armies,  but  to  deliver  some  unfortunate  Italian 
provinces  from  bands  of  foreign  adventurers. 

"You  are  not  going  to  avenge  the  injuries  done 
to  me  and  to  Italy,  but  to  prevent  an  outbreak  of 
popular  vengeance  against  a  bad  government.  By 
your  example  you  will  teach  forgiveness  of  injuries 


178  NAPOLEON  III 


and  Christian  toleration  to  those  who  insanely  com- 
pare love  for  the  Italian  fatherland  to  Islamism. 

"  I  am  accused  of  ambition ;  yes,  I  have  an  ambi- 
tion ;  it  is  to  restore  social  order  in  Italy  and  to  save 
Europe  from  the  continual  dangers  of  war  and 
revolution." 

What  is  Napoleon  III.  going  to  do  ?  That  is  the 
question  which  all  the  world  is  asking.  It  is  a 
solemn  moment. 

At  Rome,  anxiety  is  at  its  height.  The  Due  de 
Gramont  writes  to  M.  Thouvenel:  "My  dear 
Minister :  I  see  that  the  reading  of  the  strange 
documents  put  forth  by  the  Sardinian  government 
has  produced  in  you  a  sensation  analogous  to  that 
which  I  experience.  Everybody  criticises  them  in 
the  same  way  ;  there  is  a  general  hue  and  cry,  and  I 
cannot  explain  to  myself  so  monstrous  a  fault  on  the 
part  of  Cavour.  According  to  what  you  write  me, 
I  have  reason  to  believe  that  the  Emperor  has  con- 
demned them  very  severely  and  very  justly  as  well ; 
but  this  opinion  is  not  shared  by  everybody  here  or 
elsewhere.  People  are  discussing  the  value  and 
extent  of  the  meaning  to  be  ascribed  to  his 
Majesty's  expressions:  'I  shall  be  forced  to  oppose 
it,  to  constitute  myself  an  antagonist.'  They  want 
to  know  whether  the  Emperor's  troops  are  going 
to  march  against  the  Piedmontese  to  force  them  to 
withdraw.  Everybody,  from  the  Pope  and  the  car- 
dinals to  the  heads  of  all  the  missions  accredited  to 
Rome,  asks  me  that  same  question.     The  Pope  tells 


NICE  179 

me  you  have  been  interrogated  by  the  Nuncio,  and 
that  you  did  not  think  yourself  able  to  give  a  pre- 
cise answer.  The  Piedmontese  assert  that  they  are  in 
agreement  with  us  where  the  Marches  and  Umbria  are 
concerned,  and  they  are  acting  in  consequence." 

After  his  interview  with  Talleyrand,  the  Emperor 
understands  the  situation  perfectly.  None  the  less 
he  persists  in  his  resolve  to  make  no  serious  opposi- 
tion to  the  invasion  of  Umbria  and  the  Marches.  He 
will  protest  for  form's  sake  only.  The  measure  he 
adopts  is  veritably  spiritless.  Baron  de  Talleyrand 
is  to  depart  from  Turin,  but  M.  Rayneval  is  to 
remain  there  as  charge  d'affaires  for  the  despatch  of 
matters  pertaining  to  the  chancery  and  the  super- 
vision of  national  interests.  M.  de  Talleyrand  is  to 
place  one  of  the  three  secretaries  of  the  legation  at 
the  disposition  of  M.  Rayneval,  and  to  invite  the 
others  to  go  back  with  him  to  France. 

In  the  Moniteur  of  September  13  appeared  the 
following  message  from  Nice :  "  The  Emperor  and 
Empress  leave  Nice  to-night  for  Ajaccio.  In  con- 
sideration of  the  facts  which  have  just  taken  place 
in  Italy,  the  Emperor  has  decided  that  his  minister 
shall  quit  Turin  immediately.  A  secretary  remains 
charged  with  the  affairs  of  the  legation. " 


CHAPTER   XXVIII 

AJACCIO 

September  14.  —  The  imperial  yacht  has  been  navi- 
gating all  night  and  all  the  morning.  Yonder  on 
the  horizon,  between  Cape  Parate  on  the  north,  near 
the  Sanguinary  Islands  and  Cape  Muro  on  the  south, 
Ajaccio  appears  in  its  magnificent  site,  at  the  ex- 
tremity of  its  azure  gulf  and  with  its  amphitheatre 
of  mountains.  Discovering  on  the  sky  line  that  pic- 
turesque and  poetic  isle  of  Corsica,  which,  according 
to  the  singular  prophecy  of  Jean-Jacques  Rousseau, 
has  astonished  the  world,  Napoleon  III.  is  deeply 
moved.  For  the  first  time  he  is  about  to  touch  the 
soil  which  was  the  cradle  of  his  dynasty.  The  pris- 
oner of  Ham  had  often  dreamed  in  captivity  the 
dream  which  was  now  becoming  an  actuality  :  a 
triumphal  voyage  to  Corsica. 

At  noon  they  land  at  Ajaccio.  The  mayor  turns 
over  to  the  Emperor  the  keys  of  the  city,  and  makes 
a  speech,  M.  Pietri,  president  of  the  Council  General 
of  Corsica,  following  it  with  another.  When  Napo- 
leon III.  in  response  speaks  of  the  sentiments  of  affec- 
tionate sympathy,  and  the  religious  souvenirs  which 
attach   him   to   the   island,   the   enthusiasm   of   the 

180 


AJACCIO  181 


mountaineers,  who  have  come  from  every  quarter 
as  if  on  a  pilgrimage,  becomes  unbounded.  Their 
Majesties  are  conducted  to  their  palace  amidst  an 
excited  crowd  surrounding  the  carriage,  clapping 
their  hands  in  frenzy,  and  seeking  by  an  exception- 
ally impassioned  welcome  to  make  the  sovereigns 
forget  the  more  magnificent  receptions  they  had  met 
with  elsewhere  on  their  journey.  They  drive  to  the 
Place  Letizia,  in  which  is  situated  the  Bonaparte 
house,  a  humble  dwelling  of  three  stories  with  six 
windows  each.  Burned  in  1793  by  the  partisans  of 
Paoli,  this  house,  in  which  Napoleon  first  saw  the 
light,  was  rebuilt  by  the  Fesch  family.  It  contains 
authentic  furniture,  a  harpsichord  which  belonged 
to  Madame  Mere,  and  the  sedan  chair  in  which  she 
was  taken  home  from  church  when  seized  with  the 
pangs  of  childbirth.  Then  they  go  to  the  Fesch 
palace,  which  comprises  a  college,  a  museum,  a 
library,  and  a  chapel.  The  latter,  built  in  1855, 
contains  the  tombs  of  Madame  Mere  and  of  Cardinal 
Fesch,  both  of  whom  died  in  Rome,  she  in  1836,  he 
in  1839. 

On  the  following  day,  their  Majesties  visit  the 
cathedral.  Popular  enthusiasm  is  still  greater  than 
on  the  day  before.  None  the  less,  the  gravity  of 
Italian  affairs  weighs  upon  the  sovereign's  mind. 
Perhaps  he  likes  to  be  deafened  by  the  acclamations 
of  which  he  is  the  object ;  perhaps  all  this  noise  hin- 
ders him  from  facing  a  situation  which  is  in  great 
measure  his  own  work.     On  September  11,  Cavour 


182  NAPOLEON  III 


had  written  to  Baron  de  Talleyrand  :  "  If  we  do  not 
get  to  Cattolica  before  Garibaldi,  we  are  ruined  and 
thrown  ignominiously  into  the  mud  by  him.  The 
revolution  is  invading  all  Italy.  If  our  movement 
occasions  an  Austrian  intervention  in  the  States  of 
the  Church,  so  much  the  better.  I  think  we  can  fight 
them  outside  the  quadrilateral;  they  are  unassail- 
able there,  I  know.  Driven  to  an  extremity  be- 
tween two  equal  dangers,  I  prefer  to  fall  fighting. 
The  Italian  idea  will  not  perish.  However,  I  do 
not  need  to  tell  you  that  if  you  send  troops  into  the 
Marches  and   Umbria,  ours  will  withdraw." 

Hence  the  Emperor,  who,  for  form's  sake,  pro- 
tested against  the  invasion  of  pontifical  territory  by 
recalling  his  minister  from  Turin,  knew  perfectly 
well  that  he  could  prevent  that  invasion  by  a  single 
word.  In  Paris  he  would  have  been  hampered  by 
his  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  who  was  indignant 
against  the  proceedings  of  the  Piedmontese  govern- 
ment, and  he  would  not  have  known  how  to  answer 
the  Nuncio  and  the  representatives  of  the  great 
powers.  On  the  other  hand,  he  hoped  that  his 
distant  voyage,  accomplished  under  most  critical 
circumstances,  when  Italy  was  in  revolt  and  all  the 
cabinets  trembling  at  the  arrival  of  each  courier, 
would  be  considered  indicative  of  confidence  and 
composure.  Therefore  it  was  with  a  secret  satis- 
faction that  he  embarked  at  noonday,  September  15, 
at  Ajaccio  for  Algeria.  The  voyage  would  last  two 
days.     During  those  days  he  could  receive  no  de- 


AJACCIO  183 


spatch,  telegraphic  or  otherwise.  Abandoning  him- 
self to  fatality,  he  left  Italy  to  accomplish  its  own 
destiny.  During  this  time,  M.  Thouvenel,  not  au- 
thorized to  rejoin  the  Emperor,  and  having  failed 
to  induce  him  to  oppose  Piedmont  effectively,  no 
longer  tried  to  stem  the  torrent. 

M.  Benedetti,  political  director  at  the  Ministry 
of  Foreign  Affairs,  wrote  to  the  Due  de  Gramont, 
September  16  :  "  My  dear  Ambassador :  The  Emperor 
being  on  his  way  to  Algeria,  and  communication 
with  him  for  the  time  impossible,  the  minister  has 
gone  to  the  country  to  rest  for  three  days.  In  com- 
pliance with  his  orders  I  apprise  you  of  the  fact, 
and  enclose  a  copy  of  the  despatch  directing  Talley- 
rand to  quit  Turin.  He  also  desires  me  to  notify 
you  that  if  the  Pope  thinks  he  must  abandon 
Rome,  our  troops  will  at  once  withdraw." 

While  M.  Thouvenel  was  in  the  country,  the 
Piedmontese  were  getting  ready  to  destroy  the 
pontifical  army  of  General  de  Lamoriciere. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

ALGIERS 

AFTER  a  stormy  voyage,  the  imperial  yacht 
arrived  at  Algiers  on  the  morning  of  Sep- 
tember 17.  Early  the  next  day,  the  Emperor  was 
apprised  of  the  death  of  the  Duchess  of  Alba,  sister 
of  the  Empress,  which  had  occurred  the  previous 
evening  in  Paris.  As  it  was  too  late  to  counter- 
mand the  immense  and  costly  preparations  for  their 
entertainment,  and  their  absence  would  certainly  be 
misunderstood,  he  decided  not  to  communicate  the 
sad  tidings  to  the  Empress,  and  went  with  her  in  a 
carriage  attended  by  an  escort  of  a  hundred  guards. 
The  plain  of  Metidja,  between  the  mountainous 
zones  of  the  Atlas  and  the  Sahel,  a  few  leagues 
from  Algiers,  was  the  scene  of  the  fantasia,  or  Arab 
race,  organized  by  General  Yusef.  An  attack  on  a 
caravan  in  march  was  simulated  by  thousands  of 
riders  and  footsoldiers  from  the  desert.  The  long 
guns  of  the  latter  were  adorned  with  silver  and 
coral.  The  horses  were  caparisoned  with  housings 
of  contrasted  colors.  The  women,  in  palanquins  on 
the  backs  of  camels,  uttered  savage  cries.  This 
feigned   assault  was   succeeded  by  the   advance  of 

184 


ALGIERS  185 

some  nine  or  ten  thousand  Arabian  horsemen,  who 
galloped  up  in  front  of  the  tent  of  their  Majesties 
and  there  discharged  their  firearms. 

Then  came  gazelle,  ostrich,  and  falcon  chases,  fol- 
lowed by  a  procession  of  Touaregs  with  veiled  faces, 
mounted  on  camels,  and  of  Chambaas,  dwellers  in 
the  depths  of  the  desert,  who  were  to  be  the  convoys 
of  French  commerce  to  the  Soudan. 

The  fete  ended  with  a  display  that  was  like 
magic.  The  entire  Arabian  military  contingent, 
forming  an  immense  line  of  battle,  with  the 
Prophet's  colors  displayed  in  front  of  every  chief- 
tain, made  a  majestic  approach  to  the  eminence  on 
which  was  spread  the  tent  of  the  Emperor  and 
Empress,  the  Sultan  and  Sultana.  All  the  chiefs,  in 
glittering  apparel,  bent  the  knee  before  the  sov- 
ereigns. According  to  General  Fleury,  when  they 
raised  their  heads  after  this  prostration,  "  the  chiefs 
could  distinguish  the  features  of  the  Empress,  and 
a  sentiment  of  admiration  for  her  gracious  beauty 
reflected  itself  on  their  bronzed  faces,  usually  so 
imperturbable.  The  sovereign  was  greatly  flattered 
by  this  tribute  paid  far  more  to  her  personal  prestige 
than  her  rank.  The  woman  was  uppermost  in  her, 
and  she  found  this  homage  all  the  more  agreeable 
for  being  so  artless  and  unexpected." 

Alas  !  that  brilliant  day  marked  the  apogee  of 
the  Empress  Eugenie's  career.  The  enchanting 
dream  was  at  once  succeeded  by  a  bitter  awakening. 
Not,  indeed,  that  the  Emperor  acquainted  her  with 


186  NAPOLEON  III 


the  whole  truth  when  she  returned  to  the  Dey's 
palace.  He  did  not  yet  venture  to  admit  that  the 
Duchess  of  Alba  was  dead,  but  telling  her  that  she 
was  very  ill,  he  proposed  to  abridge  their  stay  in 
Africa  and  sail  the  next  day  for  France. 

On  the  following  evening  Napoleon  III.  was 
present  at  the  banquet  offered  him  by  the  city. 
Replying  to  the  speech  of  the  president  of  the  Coun- 
cil of  Algiers,  he  said  :  "  When  I  set  foot  on  African 
soil,  my  first  thought  was  for  the  army  whose  cour- 
age and  perseverance  have  accomplished  the  conquest 
of  this  vast  territory.  But  the  God  of  armies  does 
not  send  the  scourge  of  war  upon  a  people  except 
as  a  chastisement  and  a  redemption.  Conquest,  in 
our  hands,  cannot  be  other  than  a  redemption,  and 
our  first  duty  is  to  occupy  ourselves  with  the  welfare 
of  the  three  millions  of  Arabs  brought  under  our 
dominion  by  the  fortunes  of  war.  Providence  has 
called  us  to  spread  the  benefits  of  civilization  over 
this  land.  Now,  what  is  civilization  ?  It  is  to 
count  man's  comfort  for  something,  his  life  for 
much,  and  his  moral  improvement  as  the  greatest  of 
all  goods.  Hence  to  raise  the  Arabs  to  the  dignity 
of  freemen,  to  give  them  instruction  while  respecting 
their  religion,  to  ameliorate  their  existence  while 
bringing  forth  from  this  soil  all  the  treasures  Provi- 
dence has  placed  within  it  and  which  a  bad  govern- 
ment has  left  sterile,  this  is  our  mission  and  we  shall 
not  fail  in  it.   .   .   . 

"The  European  peace  will  permit  France  to  show 


ALGIERS  187 

herself  still  more  generous  to  the  colonies,  and  if  I 
have  crossed  the  sea  to  remain  for  a  few  moments 
amongst  you,  it  is  to  leave  behind,  as  traces  of  my 
passage,  confidence  in  the  future  and  perfect  faith  in 
the  destinies  of  France,  whose  efforts  for  the  good 
of  humanity  are  always  blessed  by  Providence.  I 
drink  to  the  prosperity  of  Africa." 

Napoleon  III.  understood  the  Arabs.  He  knew 
how  to  appreciate  their  loyalty,  gravity,  and  courage. 
He  did  not  forget  the  prodigies  of  bravery  their 
soldiers  had  performed  in  Italy  and  the  Crimea. 
At  Magenta  and  Solferino  he  had  himself  seen  the 
Turcos  at  work.  He  considered  them  as  comrades 
in  arms  for  whom  he  felt  equal  esteem  and  grati- 
tude. He  was  deeply  interested  in  the  fate  of  the 
Arabs,  and  wished  to  see  them  free  and  happy. 
He  liked  and  respected  them. 

On  their  side  the  Arabs  had  real  sympathy  for 
the  sovereign  whose  grave  and  dignified  aspect, 
lofty  courtesy,  and  extreme  politeness  charmed  them. 
They  were  grateful  for  his  liberal  and  generous 
intentions.  When  their  chiefs  went  to  the  Tuileries 
they  were  always  received  with  the  greatest  respect 
and  seated  at  the  royal  table.  Abd-el-Kader  had 
just  won  the  grand  cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honor 
by  his  admirable  conduct  in  Syria,  and  the  homage 
paid  the  Emir  by  France  was  a  title  of  glory  for 
all  Algeria.  In  a  word,  Napoleon  III.  had  recon- 
ciled the  Arabs  and  the  French. 

While    the    Emperor   was    talking    the   imperial 


188  NAPOLEON  III 


yacht  was  getting  up  steam  in  the  harbor,  and 
messengers  from  the  city  were  explaining  the 
sudden  departure  of  the  sovereigns.  It  was  rather 
sad  to  see  a  brilliant  journey  terminating  in  such  a 
fashion.  Distracted  by  painful  anxieties  and  gloomy 
forebodings,  half  suspecting  that  the  truth  was 
being  kept  from  her,  and  afraid  to  ask  too  precise 
questions,  the  Empress  was  more  dead  than  alive. 
"  If  only  we  arrive  in  time  !  "  she  exclaimed,  while 
going  aboard  on  General  Fleury's  arm.  The  cir- 
cumstances were  so  painful  that  it  was  probably 
permissible  for  him  to  give  the  equivocal  reply  that 
she  must  hope  for  better  news  on  reaching  France. 

The  voyage  was  a  difficult  and  even  dangerous 
one,  the  wind  being  high  and  the  yacht  pitching  a 
good  deal  and  shipping  heavy  seas.  On  nearing  the 
Gulf  of  Lyons,  Commandant  Dupont,  who  was  sail- 
ing her,  grew  uneasy,  fearing  some  serious  damage 
to  the  machinery,  and  said  that  if  he  were  not  afraid 
to  displease  the  Emperor,  he  would  ask  permission 
to  make  for  Port  Vendres,  in  order  to  avoid  crossing 
the  gulf.  This  proposition  was  transmitted  to  the 
Emperor,  who  was  very  seasick  and  asked  nothing 
better  than  to  go  ashore  as  soon  as  possible,  no 
matter  where.  He  went  up  on  deck,  which  looked 
like  a  pond,  and  after  hearing  what  the  captain  had 
to  say,  agreed  to  his  proposal.  The  landing  was 
effected  at  half- past  six  in  the  evening  of  Septem- 
ber 21,  at  Port  Vendres,  a  little  town  of  some  two 
thousand    inhabitants    in    the    department    of    the 


ALGIERS  189 


Eastern  Pyrenees.  No  carriages  could  be  found, 
but  a  butcher  and  a  grocer  provided  means  of  get- 
ting to  the  railway  at  Perpignan. 

The  death  of  the  Duchess  of  Alba  had  occurred  in 
Paris,  at  her  house  in  the  Avenue  des  Champs- 
Ely  sees,  on  September  16,  while  the  Empress  was 
sailing  from  Ajaccio  to  Algiers,  and  her  obsequies 
had  been  performed  at  the  Church  of  the  Madeleine, 
September  20,  during  the  stormy  voyage  just  ended. 
The  Emperor  thought  he  ought  not  to  conceal  the 
news  any  longer  from  her  sister,  and  the  unhappy 
sovereign  learned  the  painful  tidings  as  soon  as  she 
landed.  Her  grief  was  boundless.  Then  she  set  off 
with  her  husband  and  her  ladies  in  the  four  wretched 
vans  which  alone  were  procurable.  The  aides-de- 
camp and  the  indispensable  attendants  were  crowded 
up  beside  the  drivers.  The  rest  of  the  cortege  had 
to  wait  for  the  local  diligence  which  was  almost 
ready  to  start. 

"  It  was  in  this  way,"  says  General  Fleury,  "  that 
the  triumphal  voyage  of  Nice,  Corsica,  and  Algiers 
ended.  What  a  lesson  !  During  a  long  month 
enthusiastic  applause,  fetes,  balls,  banquets,  prome- 
nades in  gilded  carriages  admired  by  crowds,  and, 
to  terminate  this  Odyssey,  almost  a  shipwreck  !  A 
sumptuous  vessel  constructed  under  the  supervision 
of  Dupuy  de  Lome,  the  'shipwright  of  genius,'  as 
the  Emperor  called  him,  which  could  not  risk  cross- 
ing the  Gulf  of  Lyons  without  danger  !  What  a 
dark  side  human  greatness  has  !     When  such  changes 


190  NAPOLEON  III 


occur,  how  seriously  princes  ought  to  reflect  on  them 
as  warnings  from  on  high  !  If  the  waves  are  treach- 
erous, fortune  likewise  is  inconstant !  " 

Alas  !  during  the  still  more  painful  voyage  of 
1870,  the  Empress  will  doubtless  remember  this 
one  which  foreboded  it. 

At  six  in  the  evening  of  September  22,  then- 
Majesties  arrived  at  the  grating  of  the  chateau  of 
Saint-Cloud,  where  they  found  the  Prince  Imperial, 
whose  impatience  to  embrace  his  parents  had  brought 
him  there  much  earlier.  But  neither  the  pleasure  of 
seeing  her  son  again,  nor  the  homage  of  courtiers, 
nor  the  verdant  shades  of  the  beautiful  park,  could 
console  the  Empress.  She  wrote  soon  after  to  the 
Comtesse  Stephanie  de  Tascher  de  La  Pagerie  :  "If 
you  knew  all  I  have  been  suffering  of  late,  the 
constant  anxiety  during  my  journey  and  my  stay  in 
Algeria  !  And  then  to  arrive  only  to  find  the  house 
empty,  not  even  to  have  the  consolation  of  embrac- 
ing her  inanimate  body,  it  is  all  a  brief  summary 
of  the  cost  of  high  positions  on  earth.  One  often 
arrives  only  by  walking  over  one's  heart.  I  have 
had  a  painful  revulsion  of  feeling  ;  I  wonder  whether 
earthly  goods  are  worth  the  trouble  one  takes  to 
keep  them." 

The  death  of  her  sister  was  not  the  only  grief 
which  racked  the  heart  of  the  Empress.  On  Sep- 
tember 18,  the  very  day  before  her  departure  from 
Algeria,  the  army  of  the  Pope,  her  son's  godfather, 
had  been  crushed  by  the  Piedmontese  at  Castelfi- 


ALGIERS  191 


dardo.  And  other  events  had  recently  occurred 
which  annoyed  her  deeply.  September  6,  the  King 
and  Queen  of  Naples,  in  whose  misfortunes  she 
sympathized,  had  been  obliged  to  leave  their  capital, 
Garibaldi,  who  personified  the  revolution,  entering 
it  the  next  day.  This  was  the  pretext  the  Sardinian 
government  had  alleged  for  its  invasion  of  the  States 
of  the  Church.  At  Chambery  M.  Farini  and  Gen- 
eral Cialdini  had  said  to  Napoleon  III.  that  "Gari- 
baldi was  going  to  make  his  way  unimpeded  through 
the  Roman  States,  stirring  up  the  inhabitants  as 
he  went,  and  when  this  last  barrier  was  crossed,  it 
would  become  totally  impossible  to  prevent  an  attack 
on  Venetia ;  hence  the  Cabinet  of  Turin  saw  but 
one  way  of  averting  such  a  catastrophe,  namely, 
as  soon  as  Garibaldi's  approach  should  have  pro- 
voked disturbances  in  the  Marches  and  Umbria,  to 
enter  for  the  purpose  of  restoring  order,  without 
infringing  on  Papal  authority,  to  give  battle  to  the 
revolution  if  necessary  on  Neapolitan  soil,  and  to 
hand  over  at  once  to  a  Congress  the  business  of 
settling  the  destiny  of  Italy." 

Later  on,  M.  Thouvenel  wrote  in  a  circular  ad- 
dressed to  the  French  diplomatic  agents :  "  His  Maj- 
esty, although  he  deplored  the  tolerance  or  weakness 
of  the  Sardinian  government  in  allowing  matters  to 
come  to  this  point,  did  not  disapprove  its  resolve  to 
put  an  end  to  it.  But,  in  taking  this  stand,  the 
Emperor  assumed  that  the  fall  of  the  Neapolitan 
government  would  be  complete,  that  an  insurrection 


192  NAPOLEON  III 


would  break  out  in  the  Roman  States,  that  the  sov- 
ereignty of  the  Holy  Father  would  be  reserved,  and 
that  the  right  to  decide  upon  the  definitive  organiza- 
tion of  the  Peninsula  would  be  referred  to  Europe. 
The  mere  statement  of  this  programme,  as  con- 
trasted with  that  which  the  Cabinet  of  Turin  has 
carried  out,  is  enough  to  demonstrate  that  King 
Victor  Emmanuel  and  his  advisers  are  solely  respon- 
sible for  the  latter,  and  that  nothing  but  malevolence 
or  self-interest  can  seek  to  connect  the  Emperor 
with  it." 

What  is  certain  is  that  if  Napoleon  III.  had  merely 
said,  "  I  will  not  have  it,"  the  invasion  of  the 
Marches  and  Umbria  by  the  Piedmontese  army  would 
have  been  prevented.  This  he  did  not  say.  The 
Empress  was  inconsolable. 


CHAPTER  XXX 

THE  PIBDMONTESE  INVASION 

A  PIEDMONTESE  army  of  thirty-three  thou- 
■*•■*-  sand  men  under  the  command  of  General 
Fanti  had  crossed  the  pontifical  frontier,  Septem- 
ber 11,  while  the  fleet  was  sailing  toward  the  Adri- 
atic. General  della  Rocca  was  to  occupy  Umbria,  and 
General  Cialdini  to  seize  the  Marches.  The  latter 
addressed  to  his  troops  a  strange  and  violent  order 
of  the  day,  in  which  he  said  :  "  Soldiers,  I  am  lead- 
ing you  against  a  band  of  foreign  adventurers  whom 
thirst  for  gold  and  desire  for  pillage  have  brought 
into  our  country.  Fight  with,  scatter  pitilessly, 
these  wretched  hired  assassins.  Let  them  feel  at 
your  hands  the  anger  of  a  people  which  desires  its 
nationality  and  its  independence!  "  That  same  day, 
Victor  Emmanuel  described  the  defenders  of  the 
Pope  as  "  bands  of  foreign  adventurers,"  in  a  proc- 
lamation to  the  army.  The  Cabinet  of  Turin  had 
thrown  aside  the  mask.  In  a  memorandum  of  Sep- 
tember 12,  addressed  to  the  Sardinian  diplomatic 
agents,  Cavour  defended  Garibaldi :  "  What  justice 
and  reason  have  been  unable  to  obtain,"  said  he,  "the 
revolution  has  just  accomplished,  prodigious  revolu- 
tion which  has  astonished  all  Europe  by  the  almost 
o  193 


194  NAPOLEON  III 


providential  manner  in  which  it  has  been  effected, 
and  startled  it  into  admiration  for  the  illustrious 
soldier  whose  exploits  recall  the  most  surprising 
things  recounted  by  poetry  or  history." 

The  hour  was  decisive.  Everybody  was  wondering 
what  Napoleon  III.  would  do.  He  had  telegraphed 
to  Victor  Emmanuel  from  Marseilles,  September  9 : 
"  Your  Majesty  knows  how  devoted  I  am  to  the 
cause  of  Italian  independence,  but  I  cannot  approve 
the  means  at  present  employed  to  obtain  it,  because 
they  are  contrary  to  the  end  proposed.  If  it  is  true 
that  without  legitimate  cause  your  Majesty's  troops 
are  entering  the  Papal  States,  I  shall  be  forced  to 
oppose  it." 

What  was  the  meaning  of  that  phrase,  "  rrCy  oppo- 
ser  "  ?  Did  it  signify  a  real  opposition,  that  is  to 
say,  an  opposition  by  force,  or  a  purely  platonic  op- 
position ?     The  entire  question  lay  just  there. 

September  10,  Monseigneur  de  Merode  had  sent  a 
telegram  to  General  de  Lamoriciere,  then  at  Spoleto, 
announcing  that  the  French  embassy  had  received 
word  that  the  Emperor  had  written  to  the  King  of 
Piedmont  announcing  that  if  the  States  of  the  Pope 
were  attacked,  he  would  oppose  it  by  force  (si  vorebbe 
opposto  eolla  forza).  Monseigneur  de  Merode  had 
reproduced  the  imperial  language  inexactly  by  add- 
ing to  it  the  words,  by  force,  colla  forza.  In  reality, 
neither  the  prelate  nor  General  de  Lamoriciere,  nei- 
ther Cardinal  Antonelli  nor  even  the  Due  de  Gra- 
mont,  knew  what  the  Emperor  meant. 


THE  PIEDMONTESK  INVASION  195 


What  is  certain  is  that  the  ambassador  would 
have  liked  an  effective  opposition,  for  he  wrote  to 
M.  Thouvenel,  September  15  :  "  It  seems  to  me  that 
the  circumstances  which  have  accompanied  the  Pied- 
montese  aggression  are  of  a  sort  which  perfectly 
admits  of  an  armed  opposition,  and  allows  us,  while 
remaining  loyal  to  the  traditions  of  imperial  policy, 
to  attack  and  repulse  them.  To  my  mind  it  even 
seems  an  excellent  chance  for  the  Emperor  to  prove 
the  loyalty  of  his  intentions ;  all  Europe  would 
applaud  him,  and  England  could  find  nothing  in 
it  to  gainsay.  For  that  matter,  you  can  see  what 
we  get  for  all  the  circumspection  with  which  we 
have  been  treating  her ;  I  am  convinced  that  she 
would  do  less  against  us  if  we  did  not  act  as  if  we 
were  anxious  to  do  everything  for  her." 

Meanwhile,  at  the  time  of  the  Piedmontese  inva- 
sion, the  French  corps  of  occupation  had  not  budged. 
General  de  Noiie,  who  was  in  command  during  Gen- 
eral de  Goyon's  absence,  had  been  ordered  to  remain 
in  Rome.  But  General  de  Goyon  was  expected 
presently.  He  was  to  bring  reinforcements ;  the 
pontifical  troops  had  confidence  in  him,  for  he  was 
known  to  be  devoted  to  the  cause  of  the  Holy  See. 

Born  in  1802,  graduated  from  Saint-Cyr  in  1821, 
the  Comte  de  Goyon,  a  member  of  the  highest 
French  aristocracy,  had  replaced  my  father  as 
colonel  of  the  second  dragoons  in  1846.  Brigadier 
general  in  1850,  major  general  in  1853,  aide-de-camp 
of  the  Emperor,  he  had  been  appointed  in  1859  to 


196  NAPOLEON  III 


the  command  of  the  corps  of  occupation  in  Rome. 
He  would  have  been  glad  to  defend  not  merely  the 
Eternal  City,  but  the  entire  States  of  the  Church. 
Such  was  also  the  desire  of  the  Due  de  Gramont, 
who  forgot  all  his  former  quarrels  with  the  general 
and  wrote  to  M.  Thouvenel :  "  If  General  de  Goyon 
arrives  with  instructions  releasing  us  from  our  soli- 
darity, I  will  receive  him,  I  promise  you,  as  I  have 
never  yet  received  my  dearest  friend.  But  if  we 
are  still  to  continue  the  same  duty  I  shall  have  to 
hide  myself,  for  then  I  could  not  put  up  with  what 
I  should  have  to  see  and  hear." 

As  to  Monseigneur  de  Merode,  he  made  no  effort 
to  delude  himself.  ...  "  General  de  Goyon," 
said  he  to  General  de  Noiie,  "is  coming  with  a 
brigade  ;  he  will  occupy  the  environs  of  Rome  at 
all  the  points  which  are  in  no  danger,  but  he  will 
nowhere  face  the  Piedmontese  to  drive  them  back ; 
we  know  that,  and  it  is  what  deprives  us  of  confi- 
dence in  you."  And  as  the  Due  de  Gramont  com- 
plained rather  sharply  of  this  distrust,  the  Holy 
Father  said  to  him  :  "  My  dear  ambassador,  your 
own  loyalty  is  for  me  beyond  all  doubt ;  but  are 
you  quite  sure  of  knowing  the  full  mind  of  your 
government?  Besides,  doubt  is  no  longer  possible; 
it  was  known  two  weeks  ago  what  the  Emperor 
wanted  to  do.  How  glad  I  should  be  if  I  could 
myself  confound  those  who  suspect  his  intentions, 
and  proclaim  him  a  worthy  son  of  the  Church  and 
her  principal  defender !  " 


THE  PIEDMONTESE  INVASION  197 

The  leaders  of  the  pontifical  army  still  wished  to 
hope  for  French  assistance.  By  order  of  General  de 
Lamoriciere  the  following  was  posted  in  the  streets 
of  Perugia  :  "  The  government  of  H.  I.  M.  Napo- 
leon III.  has  threatened  to  break  off  friendly  rela- 
tions with  Piedmont  in  case  its  troops  cross  the 
frontier  of  the  Pontifical  States."  The  same  day, 
Lamoriciere  telegraphed  from  Foligno  to  the  Marquis 
de  Pimodan :  "  France  intervenes.  Official.  The 
first  troops  will  arrive  the  17th  with  General  de 
Goyon.  I  leave  them  Umbria  to  guard."  And  on 
the  14th,  he  telegraphed  Colonel  Gadi,  at  Ancona  : 
"  General  de  Goyon  arrives  at  Rome  the  17th  with 
two  thousand  men  and  forty  cannon.  Official.  Post 
this  good  news  in  your  city." 

While  the  defenders  of  the  Holy  See  were  thus 
beguiling  themselves  with  vain  hopes,  the  Pied- 
montese  invasion  was  going  on  without  difficulty. 
General  Cialdini  occupied  Urbino,  took  Pesaro, 
entered  Fano  and  Sinigaglia.  General  Fanti  seized 
Perugia  with  General  della  Rocca's  column,  and 
made  sixteen  hundred  prisoners,  General  Schmidt 
among  them.  Victor  Emmanuel  recognized  M. 
Valerio  in  Umbria,  and  the  Marquis  Pepoli  in  the 
Marches,  as  royal  commissioners. 

The  Piedmontese  and  the  French  troops  found 
themselves  very  close  together.  The  Due  de 
Gramont  made  the  following  bitter  reflections  in  a 
letter  to  M.  Thouvenel :  "  I  will  not  conceal  from 
you  that  our  soldiers  feel  profoundly  humiliated  at 


198  NAPOLEON  111 


having  to  tolerate  a  neighborhood  of  this  description 
with  arms  in  hand,  and  in  my  opinion  it  will  not  be 
altogether  prudent  to  subject  them  much  longer  to 
such  a  trial.  There  is  no  use  of  trying  to  delude 
ourselves,  we  have  never  been  criticised  so  severely 
as  we  are  now.  Perhaps  you  do  not  see  this  as 
clearly  in  Paris  as  it  is  seen  elsewhere,  but  the  truth 
is  that  there  is  nobody  who  is  not  entirely  convinced 
of  our  complicity  with  the  Piedmontese.  The  recall 
of  Talleyrand  has  produced  no  effect;  it  was  fore- 
seen, and  was  meant  as  part  of  the  theatrical  prop- 
erties. As  for  me,  I  cannot  describe  to  you  how 
deeply  I  suffer  on  the  Emperor's  account  and  my 
own  from  this  atmosphere  of  repulsion  and  scorn 
which  is  beginning  to  envelop  us." 

Lamoriciere  had  to  fight  without  any  assistance 
from  France.  He  had  at  his  disposal  the  Schmidt, 
Courten,  and  Pimodan  brigades,  and  a  reserve 
brigade  under  his  immediate  orders.  After  leaving 
the  battalions  of  the  Schmidt  brigade  in  the  environs 
of  Perugia,  and  confiding  to  a  detachment  of  three 
hundred  Irishmen  the  defense  of  Spoleto,  he  went  in 
the  direction  of  Ancona  with  the  remainder  of  his 
forces.  The  12th  he  was  at  Foligno,  the  13th 
at  Tolentino,  the  15th  at  Macerata,  the  17th  at 
Loretto,  where  he  made  ready  to  give  battle.  No 
one  knew  better  than  he  did  how  unequal  were  the 
chances.  He  was  going  to  fight,  not  for  success, 
but  for  honor. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

CASTELFIDARDO 

pi  ENERAL  DE  LAMORICIERE  is  not  going 
^^^  to  try  to  reconquer  Umbria.  His  plan  will  be 
confined  to  defending  the  Marches,  and  if  he  does 
not  succeed  there,  to  defending  Ancona  as  a  refuge 
for  the  pontifical  troops,  and  there  awaiting  events. 
The  two  brigades  at  his  disposal  comprise  scarcely 
more  than  five  thousand  men,  and  being  made  up 
from  very  different  elements,  their  equipment  leaves 
much  to  be  desired.  They  have  hardly  any  cavalry, 
and  their  hastily  created  artillery  has  not  more 
than  ten  cannon.  With  these  slender  resources  the 
struggle  will  be  made  against  General  Cialdini's 
excellent  Piedmontese  divisions,  comprising  between 
thirteen  and  fourteen  thousand  men.  Hence  the 
invaders  have  every  chance  of   success. 

September  17,  the  little  pontifical  army  is  before 
Loretto,  twenty-one  kilometres  southeast  of  Ancona, 
and  two  kilometres  from  the  Adriatic.  The  Musone, 
which  empties  into  the  sea  about  a  league  and  a  half 
below  Loretto,  is  near  a  valley  of  some  two  hundred 
yards,  planted  with  trees  and  intersected  by  irri- 
gating ditches.     About  two  hundred  yards  from  its 

199 


200  NAPOLEON  III 


mouth,  the  Musone  receives  on  its  left  bank  a  large 
affluent  called  the  Aspio.  Between  these  two  rivers, 
and  in  the  angle  they  form  before  uniting,  extends  a 
chain  of  hills  on  which  is  built  Castelfidardo,  a  town 
twelve  kilometres  south  of  Ancona,  which  will  give 
its  name  to  the  battle  of  the  18th  of  September.  At 
the  eastern  extremity  of  these  hills  are  two  farms 
known  as  the  Crocette  farms.  Two  leagues  farther 
away  toward  the  west  rise  the  mamelons  which 
dominate  the  city  of  Osimo.  The  two  principal 
roads  from  Loretto  to  Ancona,  the  one  by  Osimo, 
the  other  by  Camerano,  pass  these  mamelons.  Gen- 
eral Cialdini  has  occupied  them  in  force  since  the 
morning  of  September  17.  The  pontifical  troops  are 
not  sufficiently  numerous  to  fight  there.  There  is, 
besides,  a  little  road,  macadamized  only  in  part, 
which  crosses  the  Musone  by  a  ford,  passes  the 
village  of  Umana,  and  leads  to  Ancona  along  the 
seashore.  This  is  the  road  Lamoriciere  will  take, 
his  movement  being  protected  by  the  brigade  of  the 
Marquis  de  Pimodan,  recently  made  a  general.  The 
latter,  attacking  the  Piedmontese  extreme  left,  will 
move  toward  Castelfidardo  and  the  Crocette  farms. 

The  night  before  the  battle,  while  lying  on  the 
ground  at  the  foot  of  a  haystack,  Pimodan  says  to 
his  aide-de-camp,  the  Comte  de  Carpegna,  "  In  any 
case,  I  shall  leave  my  children  an  honorable  name  ; 
they  can  hold  up  their  heads  and  say,  l  Our  father 
died  in  defence  of  the  Pope.'  "  And  here  we  resign 
the  pen  to  his  eldest  son,  who  has  written  some  fine 


CASTELFIDARDO  201 

pages,  signed :  "  A  former  French  officer,"  on  the 
battle  of  Castelfidardo  :  "  Determined  at  all  hazards 
to  attempt  a  perilous  passage,  Lamoriciere  confided 
his  most  valiant  troops  to  Pimodan.  They  com- 
prised four  and  a  half  battalions  of  infantry,  eight 
six-inch  guns  and  four  howitzers  under  the  command 
of  Colonel  de  Blumenthal,  and  lastly  two  hundred 
and  fifty  cavalry  led  by  Major  Prince  Odescalchi. 
Among  the  infantry  was  especially  notable  the  heroic 
phalanx  of  three  hundred  Franco-Belgians,  the  prim- 
itive nucleus  of  the  future  regiment  of  pontifical 
zouaves.  With  these  slender  forces,  Pimodan  was 
to  seize  the  last  mamelons  of  the  heights,  occupy  and 
hold  them  until  Lamoriciere  should  cross  the  nar- 
row pass  with  the  rest  of  the  army.  Afterward  the 
survivors  were  to  rejoin  the  main  body  of  troops  and 
act  as  rear-guard.  Neither  Pimodan  nor  his  com- 
panions in  arms  could  avoid  knowing  that  they  were 
going  to  almost  certain  death  ;  but,  like  the  van- 
quished of  Thermopylae,  not  one  of  them  hesitated." 
During  the  night  of  September  17-18,  the  camp- 
fires  of  the  Piedmontese  were  seen  in  the  distance 
on  the  hills,  on  the  other  bank  of  the  Musone.  "  It 
will  be  a  hot  day,  to-morrow,  gentlemen,"  said  Com- 
mandant Becdelievre  to  his  Franco-Belgian  sharp- 
shooters. "I  advise  you  to  get  your  papers  ready 
for  eternity."  The  advice  was  followed.  The  fa- 
mous church  of  Our  Lady  of  Loretto,  the  Holy  House, 
or  house  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  was  close  at  hand. 
Very  early  in  the  morning  of  September  18,  Lamo- 


202  NAPOLEON  III 


riciere,  Pimodan,  the  staff,  guides,  Franco-Belgians, 
and  a  multitude  of  officers  and  soldiers,  communi- 
cated in  this  venerated  sanctuary.  A  French  priest 
has  written  concerning  it :  "I  saw  them  prostrated 
on  the  pavement  of  this  basilica  which  has  been 
touched  by  so  many  foreheads.  There  was  some- 
thing so  grave  and  solemn  in  the  meditative  com- 
posure of  the  two  generals  that  I  could  not  control 
my  emotion."  The  soldiers  of  Pius  IX.  were  pray- 
ing in  the  basilica  which  contains  the  banners  of 
Lepanto.  Pimodan  being  already  in  the  saddle,  his 
chaplain  came  up  to  shake  hands,  and,  at  his  request, 
gave  him  a  last  absolution.  During  the  entire 
battle,  a  Dutch  priest,  the  penitentiary l  of  the 
sanctuary  of  Loretto,  remained  on  a  terrace  whence 
he  could  see  the  combatants,  repeating  at  every 
minute  the  formula  of  Catholic  absolution,  with 
arms  outstretched  in  the  direction  of  Castelfidardo. 
Before  the  fighting  began,  Lamoriciere  went 
among  the  troops  with  words  of  encouragement, 
recalling  to  the  Swiss  and  the  Austrians  the  battles 
in  which  they  had  distinguished  themselves,  remind- 
ing the  Italians  of  the  campaigns  of  the  grand  army 
of  Napoleon,  in  Italy,  Spain,  and  Russia,  and  address- 
ing each  corps  in  its  own  tongue.  "  As  to  you, 
gentlemen,"  said  he  to  the  volunteers  from  France, 
"  you  are  Frenchmen ;  I  have  nothing  beyond  that 
to  say." 

1  A  priest  empowered  by  the  bishop  to  absolve  in  what  are 
known  as  "  reserved  cases." 


CASTELFIDARDO  203 


The  battle  opens.  Lamoriciere  descends  the  coast 
side  of  the  Loretto  heights,  and  then,  making  an 
abrupt  turn,  goes  along  the  shore  to  meet  the  Pied- 
montese  and  cross  the  Musone.  He  starts  and  leads 
in  person,  with  his  usual  intrepidity,  the  carbineers 
and  Franco-Belgian  sharpshooters,  who  climb  up 
the  mamelon  on  which  Castelfidardo  stands,  and 
after  some  hot  fighting  occupy  the  first  of  the 
Crocette  farms.  But  the  Sardinian  troops  arrive  in 
crowds  with  very  heavy  artillery.  Outnumbered, 
the  pontifical  troops  cannot  take  the  second  farm, 
and  are  obliged  to  retreat  to  the  first,  where  they 
make  a  stand.  Wounded  in  the  face,  Pimodan 
remains  in  command  and  continues  the  fight. 
Lamoriciere,  who  has  been  watching  every  phase  of 
the  combat,  sends  reinforcements  but  without  avail. 
In  spite  of  individual  acts  of  heroism,  the  admirable 
behavior  of  the  Franco-Belgians  and  the  remark- 
able steadiness  of  Major  Feschmann's  Austrian 
battalion,  the  pontifical  troops  fall  into  disorder. 
While  performing  prodigies  of  valor  in  the  attempt 
to  rally  them,  a  ball  strikes  Pimodan  in  the  breast, 
inflicting  a  mortal  wound.  He  refuses  to  be  carried 
to  the  nearest  house,  saying  to  the  Franco-Belgians 
who  wished  to  take  him  there,  "  No  ;  let  me  have 
the  glory  of  dying  on  the  battlefield."  Nevertheless 
he  is  placed  on  an  improvised  litter  of  guns  and 
straw,  and  carried  toward  the  Adriatic.  On  the 
way,  they  meet  Lamoriciere  in  the  midst  of  the 
disaster.     Pimodan   tries  to  sit  up  and   salute  his 


204  NAPOLEON  III 


chief,  but  is  unable.  The  two  generals  exchange 
a  few  words  and  mournfully  press  each  other's 
hands. 

Pimodan  had  the  supreme  misfortune  of  falling 
into  the  hands  of  the  Piedmontese,  who  carried  him 
up  to  the  heights.  "I  have  no  need  of  you,"  he 
said  to  their  chaplain  ;  "  I  went  to  communion  this 
morning."  He  died  at  midnight,  his  eyes  fixed  on 
a  poor  engraving  representing  the  Madonna  of 
Loretto.  Speaking  one  day  of  his  desire  to  go  to 
heaven,  Pimodan  had  said,  "  They  surely  must  put 
me  there,  if  only  for  example's  sake,  after  I  have 
worn  myself  out  for  the  Pope." 

All  was  lost  but  honor.  The  Franco-Belgians 
had  fought  with  fury.  M.  de  La  Gorce,  author  of 
the  remarkable  Histoire  du  Second  Empire,  who  has 
made  a  touching  account  of  the  battle  of  Castel- 
fidardo,  pays  them  this  tribute  :  "  In  this  little  cor- 
ner of  the  pontifical  Marches,  under  the  shelter  of 
a  wretched  farm,  there  was  as  it  were  a  renewed 
episode  of  the  Vendean  wars.  There  was  the  same 
robust  and  faithful  race,  the  same  names ;  the  inspi- 
ration which  had  animated  the  fathers  had  passed  on 
to  the  grandchildren."  The  defence  of  the  Crocette 
farms  made  one  think  of  that  of  the  Chateau  de  la 
Penissiere  by  the  partisans  of  the  Duchess  of  Berry 
in  1832.  The  Franco-Belgian  tirailleurs  resisted 
until  the  Piedmontese  set  fire  to  a  stack  of  fodder 
and  the  farmhouse  was  threatened  with  conflagra- 
tion.    Some  were  then  forced  to  surrender,  while 


CASTELFIDARDO  205 

others  managed  to  get  back  to  the  shore  of  the 
Musone.  Out  of  three  hundred  men,  twenty-five 
had  been  killed,  and  one  hundred  and  twenty 
wounded.  "  Here  are  all  I  have  left,"  said  M.  de 
Becdelievre,  showing  the  remnant  of  his  valiant 
phalanx  to  M.  de  Bourbon-Chalus.  The  majority 
of  the  other  pontifical  troops  had  not  displayed  a 
like  steadiness.  Swiss  and  Austrians,  subjects  of 
the  Pope,  recrossed  the  Musone  and  crowded  into 
Loretto,  which  capitulated  the  next  day. 

For  an  instant  Lamoriciere  had  hoped  to  lead  the 
fugitives  away  from  Loretto  and  urge  them  in  the 
direction  of  the  littoral  toward  Ancona.  When  he 
found  all  his  efforts  useless,  he  took  the  cross-roads 
and  reached  Ancona  about  six  o'clock  in  the  even- 
ing with  an  escort  of  eighty  men.  He  heard  firing 
as  soon  as  he  entered.  It  came  from  the  Pied- 
montese  squadron  which  was  beginning  the  attack 
by  sea. 

"  The  consequences  of  Castelfidardo,"  the  Due  de 
Persigny  has  written,  "  were  bound  to  be  and  were 
in  fact  deplorable.  In  permitting  the  spoliation  of 
the  Holy  See  and  the  adjunction  of  Naples  to  the 
kingdom  of  Italy,  the  Emperor  plunged  his  policy 
into  inextricable  complications.  His  government 
was  discredited  in  the  eyes  of  all  Europe.  It  had 
sought  to  prevent  Italian  unity,  and  Italian  unity 
was  accomplished.  It  had  intended  to  protect  the 
Holy  See,  and  the  Holy  See  lost  its  richest  prov- 
inces;  the  States  of  the  Church  were  sacked,  pil- 


206  NAPOLEON  III 


laged,  dismembered,  under  the  very  eyes  of  a  French 
army." 

The  present  Marquis  de  Pimodan,  Due  de  Rare- 
court,  who  is  a  historian  and  a  poet,  has  made  a 
melancholy  remark  about  this:  September  18,  1870, 
ten  years  to  a  day  after  Castelfidardo,  the  Prussians 
came  in  sight  of  Paris. 


CHAPTER   XXXII 

ANCONA 

44  rr^HIS  is  all  the  army  I  have  left,"  were  the  first 
words  Lamoriciere  addressed  to  M.  de  Quatre- 
barbes,  who  was  in  command  at  Ancona,  the  only  spot 
in  Umbria  and  the  Marches  where  the  Papal  flag 
still  floated.  In  the  city  people  were  still  inclined 
to  hope  that  France  would  intervene.  The  Due  de 
Gramont  had  telegraphed  to  the  French  consul, 
M.  de  Courcy,  that  the  Emperor  would  oppose  the 
Piedmontese  invasion  and  that  General  de  Goyon 
would  arrive  with  reinforcements. 

On  the  very  day  of  the  combat  of  Castelfidardo, 
the  general  had  assumed  command  at  Rome,  and 
issued  the  following  order  of  the  day  to  his  troops  : 
"  Officers  and  soldiers,  the  Emperor  has  deigned  to 
order  me  to  resume  my  former  command.  Hence  I 
return  to  you,  and  with  a  joy  equal  to  the  regret  I 
expressed  when  going  away.  Called  again,  and  in 
circumstances  more  serious  than  ever,  to  protect  the 
interests  of  Catholicism  in  the  person  of  the  Holy 
Father,  who  is  its  highest  and  most  legitimate  repre- 
sentative, and  to  guarantee  the  safety  of  the  Hol}T 
City  which  is  its  seat,  we  shall  be  equal  to  this  lofty 

207 


208  NAPOLEON  III 


mission,  and  ready,  if  necessary,  for  all  sacrifices  in 
order  to  fulfil  it.  In  these  sentiments  we  respond 
as  French  soldiers  to  the  will  of  our  Emperor. 
Thanks  to  his  Majesty,  we  no  longer  need  envy  our 
brethren  now  in  Cochin  China  and  Syria  the  glory 
of  defending  a  generous  and  noble  cause." 

The  defenders  of  Ancona  fancied  that  the  troops 
of  General  de  Goyon  were  coming  to  their  assistance. 
Pimodan  had  thought  it  impossible  that  the  Due  de 
Gramont's  despatch  to  the  consul  could  be  a  trick  or 
a  falsehood.  Austria's  intervention  was  also  hoped 
for.  The  Archduke  Maximilian,  Francis  Joseph's 
brother,  was  in  command  of  the  Austrian  fleet  at 
Trieste.  Would  that  not  make  its  appearance  before 
Ancona  ?  But,  like  Napoleon,  Francis  Joseph  aban- 
doned the  defenders  of  Ancona. 

The  Piedmontese  fleet  of  Admiral  Persano  had 
begun  the  bombardment  of  the  city  by  September 
18.  The  siege  stores  having  arrived  by  the  22d, 
the  blockade  was  officially  declared.  The  next  day 
the  tents  of  the  Piedmontese  were  visible  on  all  the 
heights  in  the  vicinity  of  Ancona.  Lamoriciere  had 
only  between  seven  and  eight  thousand  men  with 
which  to  resist  the  double  attack,  and  after  several 
days'  bombardment,  the  Piedmontese  army,  under 
General  Cadorna,  succeeded  in  capturing  a  suburb  and 
the  Pia  gate,  which  had  been  taken  and  retaken  five 
times.  September  28,  Admiral  Persano  advanced 
toward  the  port  with  all  his  fleet.  On  the  coast  side, 
the  chief  defence  of  the  city  consisted  of  batteries 


ANCONA  209 


placed  on  two  moles.  The  Piedrnontese  established 
themselves  within  pistol-shot  of  these  batteries  and 
destroyed  them  by  the  fire  of  one  hundred  cannon. 
The  pontifical  artillery  had  defended  the  works  with 
great  courage,  but  a  shell  at  last  reaching  the  powder 
magazine,  a  terrible  explosion  followed.  All  means 
of  defence  being  exhausted,  Lamoriciere  asked  for 
an  armistice  of  six  days,  which  was  refused.  "I 
could  hold  the  place  longer,"  he  said,  "if  I  had  the 
least  chance  of  being  reenforced,  but  under  existing 
circumstances  further  resistance  would  be  suicide." 
September  29  he  resolved  to  capitulate.  The  taking 
of  Ancona  delivered  to  the  Piedrnontese  7143  pris- 
oners, of  whom  three  were  generals,  17  superior 
officers,  and  331  officers  of  lower  rank.  It  had  cost 
the  besieged  and  the  besiegers  together  about  1500 
lives.  The  capitulation,  concluded  on  the  same 
terms  as  that  of  Loretto,  was  honorable  for  the 
defeated.  The  garrison  went  out  with  the  honors 
of  war.  The  officers,  transferred  to  Genoa  by  sea, 
and  the  soldiers,  by  land  to  Alessandria,  were  free  to 
return  to  their  homes  under  the  sole  condition  of 
not  taking  service  against  Piedmont  within  a  year. 
After  surrendering  the  city,  Lamoriciere  went  aboard 
the  frigate  Marie-Adelaide,  where  Admiral  Persano 
received  him  with  the  respect  due  to  unfortunate 
courage.  He  was  taken  to  Genoa  and  restored  to 
liberty. 

The  obsequies  of  General  de  Pimodan  were  cele- 
brated in  Rome  with  great  solemnity.     The  national 


210  NAPOLEON  III 


church  of  Saint-Louis,  in  the  Eternal  City,  is  con- 
sidered as  French  ground.  In  case  he  fell  while 
fighting  for  the  Pope,  Pimodan  had  expressed  a  wish 
to  be  buried  there.  The  wish  was  granted.  Pius 
IX.  himself  composed  the  inscription  engraved  upon 
his  tomb.  He  conferred  the  title  of  duke  on  all  his 
male  descendants,  and  wrote  an  affecting  letter  to 
his  widow  which  ended  thus  :  "  I  shall  never  cease  to 
recommend  this  soul  to  God,  my  dearest  daughter, 
even  though  I  am  convinced  that  the  cause  and 
object  which  have  taken  him  from  us  on  earth  will 
have  already  obtained  for  him  a  blissful  eternity 
in  heaven."  General  de  Goyon  and  the  principal 
officers  under  his  command  were  present  at  his 
funeral.  Victor  Emmanuel  would  not  permit  his 
sword  to  be  placed  in  the  Turin  arsenal,  but  sent 
it  respectfully  to  his  widow.  Even  General  Cialdini 
paid  homage  to  the  vanquished.  Visiting  the  pris- 
oners at  Loretto,  he  said :  "  Gentlemen,  you  all 
leaped  like  lions."  And  on  reading  the  list  of 
killed  and  wounded,  he  exclaimed:  "Why,  all  old 
France  was  there  !  One  might  think  he  was  read- 
ing a  list  of  the  morning  levee  of  Louis  XIV." 

On  arriving  at  Genoa,  Lamoriciere,  by  the  King's 
directions,  was  installed  at  the  palace  with  his 
orderlies.  Two  of  these,  MM.  de  Terves  and  de 
Chevigne,  came  afterward  to  Turin.  "  The  gen- 
eral is  very  much  overcome,"  they  said  to  the  secre- 
taries of  the  French  legation  ;  "  he  is  silent,  and 
profoundly  sad." 


ANCONA  211 


Set  free  at  Genoa,  Lamoriciere  went  at  once  to 
Rome,  where  he  resigned  his  command  to  the  Holy- 
Father  in  person.  Writing  to  M.  Thouvenel,  Octo- 
ber 16,  the  Due  de  Gramont  said :  "  The  Pope  has 
received  General  Lamoriciere,  who  repeated  to  him 
the  identical  words  of  General  Cialdini,  to  wit: 
'  They  tell  you  at  home  that  the  Emperor  Napoleon 
disapproves  of  us.  It  is  completely  false.  He 
approves  all  we  are  doing;  it  was  arranged  with 
him,  he  spoke  to  me  himself,  and  said  in  leaving  me : 
"  Go,  and  be  quick  about  it !  "  He  even  corrected 
my  plan  of  campaign.'  The  Pope  seems  to  have 
replied,  '  What  you  tell  me  sounds  very  positive, 
and  yet  it  is  very  hard  to  believe.'" 

The  ambassador  added :  "  Confess,  my  dear  minis- 
ter, that  all  this  is  strange,  and  does  not  mend 
matters.  I  maintain  that  the  Piedmontese  are  lying, 
just  as  they  lied  to  the  Emperor  in  saying  they 
would  enter  the  Papal  States  in  order  to  arrest 
Garibaldi.  Is  it  to  arrest  Garibaldi  that  they  are 
entering  the  kingdom  of  Naples  ?  Did  they  arrest 
him  at  Volturno  ?  Is  it  not  now  plainly  evident 
to  everybody  that  all  this  was  simply  a  clever 
comedy?" 

The  French  prisoners  from  Lamoriciere's  army 
were  arriving  at  Turin.  The  Comte  d'Ideville, 
secretary  at  this  period  of  the  French  legation,  says 
of  them  in  his  Journal  d'un  diplomate :  "  The  en- 
thusiasm, vivacity,  and  courage  of  these  young  men 
are  an  additional  proof  that  the  old  ardor,  vitality 


212  NAPOLEON  III 


and  spirit  still  exist  in  France,  in  all  classes  and 
in  every  party.  These  sons  of  Brittany  and  the 
Faubourg  Saint-Germain  have  the  dash  and  gayety 
of  the  zouaves  of  Africa  and  Solferino,  sons  of  the 
Faubourg  Saint-Antoine.  They  will  be  forgotten 
by  to-morrow,  perhaps,  the  brave  young  fellows ; 
but  this  glorious  campaign,  short  as  it  was,  will  have 
given  them  the  love  of  war,  the  righteous  pride  of 
their  nobility,  retempered  in  blood.  De  Terves, 
de  la  Neuville,  Perrodil,  Maistre,  Champrobert, 
Rohan,  Chevigne,  Sabran,  are  those  whom  we  have 
seen  the  most  of.  We  dined  together  at  the  Fedar 
hotel." 

On  leaving  Rome  for  France,  Lamoriciere  received 
from  the  Pope  the  order  of  Christ.  He  refused 
any  other  reward,  saying  that  he  was  nothing  but  a 
defeated  man. 

The  Holy  See  had  definitively  lost  the  Marches 
and  Umbria.  The  territory  which  General  de 
Goyon  had  been  ordered  to  protect  comprised 
merely  the  delegations  of  Civita-Vecchia  and  Vi- 
terbo  on  the  north,  the  delegation  of  Velletri  on  the 
south,  and  on  the  east  the  environs  of  Rome  as  far 
as  Civita-Castellana.  Within  this  radius  he  was 
authorized  to  occupy  all  points  he  deemed  suitable, 
either  for  a  time  or  permanently. 

The  Due  de  Gramont  wrote  to  M.  Thouvenel, 
October  13  :  "  If  the  situation  were  not  so  grave, 
one  could  not  be  present  without  laughing  at  all 
these  declarations  of  spontaneity  which  succeed  each 


ANCONA  213 


other  every  twenty-four  hours.  There  are  cities 
which  spontaneously  return  to  the  Pope,  which  illu- 
minate spontaneously  for  the  Pope  when  our  columns 
approach,  just  as  they  did  for  Victor  Emmanuel. 
On  the  other  hand,  at  Turin  La  Farina  is  asking  to 
have  Piedmontese  sent  into  Sicily  to  ascertain  the 
spontaneity  of  the  vote  of  annexation." 

To  sum  up,  from  1860  to  1870,  the  year  in  which 
the  temporal  power  of  the  Pope  came  to  an  end,  all 
that  remained  of  the  States  of  the  Church  was  Rome, 
and  the  Comarca,  Viterbo,  Civita-Vecchia,  and  Fresi- 
none,  with  a  population  of  about  690,000  souls. 

Garibaldi  had  held  all  European  diplomacy  in 
check.  The  sovereigns  were  bowing  before  the 
revolution,  and  Austria,  the  conservative  power  par 
excellence,  had  done  still  less  than  France  for  the 
cause  of  the  Pope  and  the  King  of  Naples. 


CHAPTER   XXXIII 

THE  SYRIAN   EXPEDITION 

T3RECISELY  at  the  time  when  France  was  desert- 
ing  the  cause  of  the  Pope  in  Umbria  and  the 
Marches,  it  was  taking  that  of  the  Oriental  Chris- 
tians with  great  energy.  In  Syria,  if  not  in  the  Papal 
States,  it  was  the  Emperor's  policy  to  act  as  "the 
eldest  son  of  the  Church."  The  chagrin  occasioned 
to  Catholics  by  the  affairs  of  Italy  was  in  some  degree 
alleviated  by  this  counterpoise. 

Before  embarking  at  Marseilles,  the  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  Syrian  expedition  had  issued  the 
following  proclamation  to  the  troops  :  "  Soldiers, 
defenders  of  all  great  and  noble  causes,  the  Emperor 
has  decided  in  the  name  of  all  civilized  Europe  that 
you  should  go  to  Syria  to  assist  the  Sultan's  troops 
in  avenging  outraged  humanity.  It  is  a  glorious 
mission,  which  you  are  proud  of  and  will  worthily 
perform.  You  may  still  find  noble  and  patriotic 
souvenirs  in  those  celebrated  lands,  the  birthplace 
of  Christendom,  which  Godfrey  de  Bouillon  and  the 
Crusaders,  General  Bonaparte  and  the  brave  soldiers 
of  the  Republic,  have  successively  made  illustrious. 
You   are   accompanied   by   the   good  wishes   of   all 

214 


THE  SYRIAN   EXPEDITION  215 


Europe.  I  firmly  hope  that  the  Emperor  and  France 
will  be  satisfied  with  you,  no  matter  what  may  hap- 
pen.    Long  live  the  Emperor  !  " 

M.  Thouvenel  had  called  the  Emperor's  attention 
to  General  de  Beaufort  d'Hautpoul  while  he  was 
acting  as  president  of  the  Franco-Sardinian  commis- 
sion for  settling  the  new  boundaries  of  Piedmont  and 
Savoy.  The  choice  of  him  as  commander  of  the  new 
expedition  was  an  excellent  one.  Detailed  for  ser- 
vice in  Egypt,  from  1835  to  1837,  when  only  a  staff 
captain,  he  spent  three  years  in  Syria  as  aide-de-camp 
of  Soliman  Pasha  (Colonel  Selve),  and  made  the 
campaign  of  1840  with  him.  Extremely  intelligent, 
firm  and  upright  in  character,  familiar  with  the  man- 
ners, customs,  language,  and  climate  of  Syria,  per- 
fectly well  acquainted  with  the  ground  his  troops 
were  to  cover,  a  map  of  which  he  had  given  to  the 
War  Department,  General  de  Beaufort  d'Hautpoul 
possessed  every  requisite  for  success  in  his  com- 
mand. The  army  was  also  in  every  way  capable. 
Its  officers  had  been  long  accustomed  to  manage 
Arabian  affairs,  and  its  soldiers  included  African 
zouaves  and  chasseurs,  incomparable  for  an  expe- 
dition of  this  sort,  and  spahis,  Arabians  by  birth 
and  Moslems  by  religion,  whose  presence  under  the 
French  flag  proved  that  there  was  no  question  of 
executing  race  or  creed  vengeance. 

The  expeditionary  corps,  amounting  to  some  six 
thousand  men,  included  the  5th  and  13th  of  the  line, 
the  16th  battalion  of  foot  chasseurs,  a  battalion  of 


216  NAPOLEON  III 


the  1st  zouaves,  a  squadron  of  the  1st  hussars,  one 
of  the  1st  African  chasseurs,  another  of  the  2d 
spahis,  two  batteries  of  artillery,  a  company  of  engi- 
neers and  one  of  train-soldiers.  Colonel  Osmont  was 
chief  of  staff. 

The  general  landed  at  Beyrout  August  16.  On 
his  arrival  he  found  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  those 
worthy  servants  of  God  and  the  poor  who  are  met 
wherever  there  are  unfortunates  to  be  assisted.  In 
forcing  Mussulman  fanaticism  to  recoil  before  Chris- 
tian civilization,  in  remaining  loyal  to  the  adage 
(resta  Dei  per  Francos,  in  displaying  to  the  world 
the  alliance  between  the  cross  and  the  sword,  between 
charity  and  courage,  France  nobly  continued  its  an- 
cestral traditions  and  was  about  to  render  brilliant 
service  to  all  Christendom. 

If  the  authors  of  the  recent  massacres  were  to  be 
punished,  it  was  necessary  that  Fuad  Pasha,  the  com- 
missioner appointed  by  the  Sultan  with  unlimited 
powers,  should  be  carefully  watched.  Arriving  at 
Beyrout  July  17,  he  had  entered  Damascus  on  the 
29th  at  the  head  of  three  thousand  regulars.  Seven 
hundred  arrests  were  made  at  once,  but  in  spite  of 
the  efforts  of  the  French  consul,  all  culprits  of  high 
rank  were  left  at  liberty.  The  repression  vacillated 
between  vigor  and  laxness  up  to  the  time  when  the 
French  troops  landed  in  Syria.  April  20,  fifty-seven 
Mussulmans  who  had  been  recognized  as  guilty  by 
the  extraordinary  tribunal  instituted  by  Fuad  at 
Damascus  were  hanged,  and  on  the  same  day  one 


THE  SYRIAN  EXPEDITION  217 

hundred  and  ten  policemen  were  shot.  Fearing  lest 
the  French  army  might  enter  Damascus,  the  holy 
city,  and  thus  scandalize  all  Mahometans,  Fuad  con- 
cluded to  execute  Achmet  Bey,  formerly  marshal  of 
the  army  of  Syria  and  governor  ad  interim  of  Damas- 
cus at  the  time  of  the  massacres.  Achmet  was  led 
secretly  to  his  death  before  sunrise,  which  permitted 
Fuad  to  tell  Europe  that  he  had  been  inflexible,  and 
the  Mussulmans  to  believe  that  the  great  criminal 
had  been  spared. 

On  returning  to  Beyrout,  September  11,  Fuad 
found  the  tricolored  flag  floating  on  the  city  walls. 
Unable  to  bend  the  inflexible  determination  of  the 
French  to  look  for  the  guilty  Druses  in  the  Libanus, 
with  or  without  the  concurrence  of  the  Turks,  he  had 
to  resign  himself  to  an  expedition  made  in  common. 
The  French  were  to  move  toward  Deir-el-Kamar, 
and  from  there  explore  the  mountain,  while  the 
Turks  would  march  southward,  cross  the  heights 
of  Lebanon,  cut  off  the  retreat  of  the  armed  bands 
of  Druses  toward  Hauran,  and  throw  them  back  on 
the  French  troops.  Such  was  the  plan  adopted  ;  but 
Fuad  Pasha,  relying  on  England,  which  had  doubtless 
resolved  to  defend  the  Druses,  had  great  hopes  of 
bringing  it  to  naught. 

The  expeditionary  corps  left  Beyrout  September  25, 
and  reached  Deir-el-Kamar  the  next  day.  M.  Ernest 
Louet,  paymaster  of  the  Syrian  expedition,  says : 
"On  the  spot  formerly  occupied  by  bazaars  and  shops 
we  now  found  nothing  but  heaps  of  dead  bodies. 


218  NAPOLEON  III 


Even  the  horses  refused  to  pass  through  these  traces 
of  carnage ;  they  pricked  up  their  ears  at  the  flight 
of  the  hawks  and  vultures  disturbed  by  our  arrival. 
All  that  the  journals  have  published  about  it  seems 
to  us  below  the  hideous  truth.  In  every  direction 
lay  pools  of  blood  which  only  the  sun  could  dry  up." 

The  chief  result  aimed  at  by  an  expedition  in 
common  was  completely  missed.  Either  through 
incapacity  or  connivance,  Fuad  Pasha  had  allowed 
all  the  Druses  who  had  taken  refuge  in  Hauran  to 
pass  through  the  Turkish  lines,  just  when  they  were 
supposed  to  be  surrounded  on  all  sides.  Mustapha- 
Aga,  whom  Fuad  Pasha  had  placed  at  Djeb-Jenin 
with  several  companies  of  Metualis  to  prevent  them 
from  passing  through  the  defile  which  leads  to 
Hauran,  had  opened  it  to  them.  "  Let  Europe 
expect  nothing  from  Turkey  in  the  way  of  punish- 
ing the  Druses,"  writes  M.  Louet ;  "  the  Anglo- 
Turkish  policy  which  for  twenty  years  has  been  the 
ruin  of  Syria  assures  them  impunity,  and  Fuad 
Pasha  has  to  resort  to  every  trick  and  every  artifice 
of  speech  in  order  to  disguise  it." 

General  de  Beaufort  d'Hautpoul  resolved  to  act 
alone  thereafter,  independent  of  Turkish  cooperation. 
The  military  role  of  the  expedition  was  restricted, 
but  its  humanitarian  mission  called  down  blessings 
on  the  name  of  France.  Scattered  about  in  their 
encampments,  the  French  troops  everywhere  em- 
ployed themselves  in  effacing  the  traces  of  the 
catastrophes,    in    rebuilding    houses    destroyed    by 


THE  SYRIAN  EXPEDITION  219 


incendiary  fires,  in  sharing  their  rations  with  the 
unfortunates  around  them.  Under  shelter  of  the 
French  flag  villages  were  repeopled  and  confidence 
returned.  French  soldiers  and  religious  distributed 
food,  seed  corn,  and  building  materials,  set  up  anew 
the  family  hearthstones,  and  appeared  as  liberators 
and  saviours. 

October  7,  the  expeditionary  corps  was  at  Kab- 
Elias,  where  a  Mass  was  said  in  open  air.  On  the 
same  day  it  entered  Zahle.  The  Christians  thronged 
the  passage  of  the  general.  The  women  pursued 
him  with  acclamations  whose  enthusiasm  was  in 
striking  contrast  with  the  smoking  ruins  that  served 
to  shelter  them.  In  this  city,  which  had  contained 
not  less  than  fifteen  thousand  inhabitants  before  the 
massacres,  but  four  or  five  houses  were  left  standing, 
and  that  not  because  they  had  been  spared,  but  because 
they  had  not  taken  fire  so  easily  as  the  others. 

On  the  very  day  when  the  French  army  of  Syria 
entered  Zahle  in  continuance  of  its  benevolent  mis- 
sion, the  army  of  King  Victor  Emmanuel  was 
invading  the  kingdom  of  Naples.  Let  us  give  a 
rapid  sketch  of  the  events  leading  up  to  this  inva- 
sion, a  result  of  that  of  Umbria  and  the  Marches. 


CHAPTER   XXXIV 

THE   KINGDOM   OF   NAPLES 

|~T  should  be  recognized  that  the  events  now  going 
on  in  southern  Italy  were  in  no  wise  conformable 
with  the  programme  of  France.  Though  it  blamed 
severely  the  defects  of  the  Neapolitan  administration, 
it  desired  to  see  Francis  II.  maintained  on  his  throne, 
and  would  have  liked  to  see  him  in  alliance  with 
King  Victor  Emmanuel.  Even  England  had  at  first 
seemed  to  favor  such  an  arrangement.  Comte  de 
Persign}^  wrote  to  M.  Thouvenel,  June  1 :  "  Lord 
John  Russell  tells  me  that  after  all  it  would  be  more 
advantageous  for  everybody  if  Italy  should  form  two 
friendly  groups  united  by  a  common  interest,  than 
to  run  after  a  possibly  unattainable  unity  whose  first 
consequence  would  be  inevitably  to  bring  on  a  new 
war  with  Austria.  I  congratulated  Lord  John  Rus- 
sell on  his  prudent  frame  of  mind,  and,  in  support 
of  this  opinion,  I  called  his  attention  to  the  advan- 
tage of  avoiding  by  a  reconciliation  between  the  two 
sovereigns  the  consequences  which  might  result  from 
the  dissatisfaction  of  the  northern  Powers  with  the 
violations  of  the  law  of  nations  now  taking  place  in 
Italy." 

220 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  NAPLES  221 

Baron  Brenier,  minister  of  France  at  Naples,  had 
always  advised  Francis  II.  to  make  liberal  reforms 
and  ally  himself  with  Victor  Emmanuel.  After  long 
and  easily  comprehensible  hesitation,  the  young 
sovereign  ended  by  adopting  this  advice.  June  20 
a  royal  act  appeared  announcing :  (1)  a  general 
amnesty  ;  (2)  the  formation  of  a  liberal  ministry, 
under  the  presidency  of  M.  Spinelli,  of  the  Princes 
Scalea  ;  (3)  a  national  statute  ;  (4)  an  accord  with 
Sardinia ;  (5)  adoption  of  the  Italian  flag ;  (6) 
special  representation  for  Sicily. 

The  following  month  Francis  II.  sent  two  extraor- 
dinary ambassadors  to  Sicily  for  the  purpose  of 
negotiating  a  political,  customs,  and  commercial 
league  between  the  two  Italian  crowns,  with  the 
object  of  blending  the  interests  of  their  states  and 
ensuring  the  independence  of  the  peninsula  against 
all  foreign  attack  or  influence.  These  ambassadors 
were  M.  Manna  and  Baron  Winspeare.  They  arrived 
at  Turin  July  15.  Baron  de  Talleyrand  had  received 
orders  to  support  their  mission  warmly.  He  wrote, 
July  16,  to  M.  Thouvenel  :  "  I  have  pointed  out  to 
Comte  Cavour  as  the  probable  cost  of  his  persistence 
in  the  line  of  conduct  adopted  toward  the  King  of 
Naples,  an  imminent  rupture  of  diplomatic  relations 
between  Sardinia  and  the  courts  of  Prussia  and 
Russia  ;  even  Italy's  independence  imperilled  by  a 
policy  condemned  by  our  conscience  and  sense  of 
justice  ;  European  war,  in  a  word,  resulting  from  the 
Italian   revolution,  and   impelling   France  to  place 


222  NAPOLEON  III 


itself  in  line  with  its  own  interests  and  no  longer 
those  of  King  Victor  Emmanuel. 

"  Comte  Cavour,  M.  le  Ministre,  listened  to  me 
with  emotion.  'If  we  should  do  as  we  are  asked,' 
said  he,  •  we  should  be  thrown  out  of  the  windows. 
Even  the  popularity  of  the  King  could  not  excuse  it. 
Nobody  in  Italy  would  advise  me  to  do  it,  for  nobody 
believes  in  the  King  of  Naples.  He  will  do  what  his 
father  and  grandfather  did  before  him.  The  situa- 
tions are  precisely  the  same,  and  experience  tells  us 
what  the  future  will  be.  The  dangers  and  difficul- 
ties are  immense.  It  is  not  one  of  the  most  diffi- 
cult positions  in  which  I  ever  found  myself,  but  the 
most  difficult,  and  I  recognize  it.' " 

If  M.  Cavour's  situation  was  critical,  that  of 
Francis  II.  was  quite  different.  The  ground  was 
failing  under  his  feet.  He  was  surrounded  by  trea- 
son on  every  side.  His  own  uncles,  the  Count  of 
Aquila  and  the  Count  of  Syracuse,  were  covenanting 
with  his  enemies,  and  every  reform  he  granted  was 
turned  against  his  throne.  The  victor  at  Milazza, 
July  25,  Garibaldi  was  master  in  Sicily,  and  would 
soon  pass  over  to  the  mainland. 

This  probability  keenly  interested  the  French 
government.  M.  Thouvenel  wrote  to  the  Comte 
de  Persigny,  July  24  :  "  Is  it  expedient  for  France 
and  England  to  be  entirely  passive  witnesses  of 
events  calculated  to  produce  the  most  serious  re- 
sults on  European  order,  to  permit  aggressions  by 
an  army  composed  of  revolutionary  and  foreign  ele- 


TEE  KINGDOM  OF  NAPLES  223 

raents,  on  a  country  with  which  we  maintain  regular 
relations,  in  a  word,  to  allow  the  intervention  of  vio- 
lence to  make  void  the  constitutional  test  to  which 
King  Francis  II.  has  loyally  subjected  himself  ?  The 
government  of  the  Emperor  thinks  this  passive  atti- 
tude would  befit  neither  the  interests  nor  the  dignity 
of  either  France  or  England,  and  I  have  said  to  Lord 
Cowley  that  it  would  seem  desirable  to  me  in  the 
present  condition  of  things  that  the  commanders  of 
our  naval  forces  should  be  authorized  to  tell  Gari- 
baldi that  they  have  received  orders  to  prevent  his 
crossing  the  strait." 

England  having  rejected  this  proposition,  France 
was  unwilling  to  act  alone.  Sure  of  impunity,  Gari- 
baldi was  free  to  go  on  with  his  conquests.  He 
crossed  the  strait  in  the  night  of  August  18,  and 
landed  very  near  Mileto.  He  seized  Reggio  the  21st. 
The  Neapolitan  troops  disbanded,  forty  thousand 
soldiers  quitting  the  ranks.  In  ten  days  Garibaldi 
dispersed  four  divisions,  and  conquered  twenty  towns 
and  fortresses,  which  left  his  way  open  to  the  capital. 

Treason  had  never  been  more  cunningly  organ- 
ized. August  9,  Admiral  Persano  had  sailed  into 
Neapolitan  waters  with  the  Piedmontese  fleet.  In- 
violable on  his  ship,  as  the  Marquis  de  Villamarin? 
was  in  the  house  of  the  legation,  he  plotted  quite  at 
his  ease  and  arranged  the  desertion  of  the  officers  of 
the  Neapolitan  navy.  He  concealed  two  half  bat- 
talions of  bermglieri  among  his  troops,  ready  to  go 
ashore  whenever    he    thought    it  would  be  useful. 


224  NAPOLEON  III 


The  ministry,  partly  won  over  to  the  revolution, 
allowed  the  journals  to  boast  of  Garibaldi,  the  laz- 
zaroni  to  sell  his  portraits  and  proclamations  in  the 
streets.  Francis  II.  was  obliged  to  send  one  of  his 
uncles,  the  Count  of  Aquila,  into  exile.  Another 
uncle,  the  Count  of  Syracuse,  urged  the  King  in 
writing  to  resign  his  authority,  to  shed  no  more 
Italian  blood,  and  to  follow  the  example  of  the 
Duchess  of  Parma.  The  national  guard  went  to 
offer  its  congratulations  to  the  Count  of  Syracuse. 
The  ministers  refused  to  exile  him,  and  iris  anterooms 
were  full  of  petitioners  until  the  day  when  it  pleased 
him  to  depart  for  Turin.  The  sailors  and  even  the 
ministry  opposed  the  King's  scheme  of  sending  the 
fleet  to  Trieste  to  rescue  him.  Unable  to  contend 
any  longer  at  Naples  against  the  rising  tide  of  trea- 
son, the  unfortunate  monarch  resolved  to  leave  his 
capital  and  take  refuge,  as  Pius  IX.  had  done  in 
1848,  at  Gaeta,  a  strong  city  on  the  Mediterranean, 
seventy  kilometres  from  Naples.  The  population  of 
Gaeta  was  only  fifteen  thousand  souls,  but  it  was  very 
well  fortified,  and  with  those  of  his  troops  who  had 
remained  faithful  Francis  II.  could  make  a  long  and 
honorable  resistance. 

At  five  o'clock  in  the  evening  of  September  6, 
accompanied  by  his  family,  some  loyal  adherents, 
and  the  members  of  the  Diplomatic  Corps,  those  of 
France  and  England  excepted,  he  left  the  palace  he 
was  never  again  to  see,  passed  through  an  indifferent 
crowd  to  gain  the  harbor,  went  aboard  the  Spanish 


THE  KINGDOM   OF  NAPLES  225 

ship  Colon,  and  sailed  for  Gaeta.  A  single  Nea- 
politan vessel,  the  Parthenope,  escorted  him,  with 
those  of  the  marines  who  had  not  deserted  him  on 
board. 

Garibaldi  was  at  Salerno.  In  the  morning  of  Sep- 
tember 7,  the  syndic  of  Naples  brought  him  "  the 
votes  of  the  population."  The  writer  of  the  address 
was  the  minister  of  Francis  II.,  M.  Liborio  Romano, 
the  same  who  had  drawn  up  the  evening  before  the 
farewell  proclamation  of  the  sovereign  to  the  inhab- 
itants of  his  capital,  and  who  had  been  congratulated 
by  the  unhappy  prince  on  having  "  so  well  compre- 
hended his  soul."  During  the  morning,  Garibaldi, 
preceding  his  army,  took  an  express  train,  and  entered 
Naples,  where  the  national  guard  was  expecting  him, 
a  little  after  midday,  attended  only  by  a  dozen  offi- 
cers. Riding  beside  the  driver  of  a  hired  carriage, 
he  went  to  the  palace  of  Angri,  at  the  end  of  the 
Via  de  Toledo,  where  he  selected  a  sort  of  garret 
at  the  top  of  the  house  for  himself,  abandoning  the 
rest  of  the  palace  to  his  staff. 

The  dictator  encountered  not  the  slightest  trace 
of  opposition  in  a  city  of  four  hundred  thousand 
inhabitants.  September  9,  at  five  in  the  evening, 
he  went  to  Fort  St.  Elmo,  which  opened  its  gates  to 
him.  An  hour  later,  the  Royal  Palace  and  Fort  Euf 
and  the  Castello  Nuova  made  their  submission. 

Garibaldi  declared  himself  an  adherent  of  Victor 
Emmanuel,  but  the  implacable  enemy  of  Cavour. 
He   had  a  letter  to  one  of   his  friends   published, 


226  NAPOLEON  III 


September  18,  in  the  Official  Journal  of  Naples,  in 
which  he  announced  that  he  would  never  offer  his 
hand  to  a  man  who  had  humiliated  the  national  dig- 
nity and  sold  an  Italian  province. 

September  25,  Francis  II.  addressed  a  protest  to 
the  European  powers.  He  said  :  "  Within  a  space 
of  four  months,  Europe  has  looked  on,  surprised  but 
impassive,  while  thousands  of  soldiers  of  the  revolu- 
tion passed  through  the  squadrons  of  all  the  maritime 
nations,  on  vessels  loaded  with  arms  and  munitions ; 
while  the  ports  of  a  nation  friendly  to  the  Two 
Sicilies  served  as  an  asylum  and  inviolable  refuge 
to  those  who  were  to  invade  our  territory,  and  the 
flags  of  the  Sardinian  navy  protected  with  impunity 
the  fleet  and  battalions  of  the  chief  of  the  revo- 
lution whose  acts  the  Sardinian  government  had 
condemned  by  describing  them  as  outrages  and  as 
usurpation.  .  .  .  The  Piedmontese  armies,  with- 
out any  legitimate  motive,  and  without  advancing 
any  claim  except  that  of  assisting  the  revolution, 
are  already  invading  the  States  of  the  Church. 
General  Fanti's  letter  to  General  de  Lamoriciere  is 
the  most  evident  proof  that  international  law  and 
public  law  exist  no  longer." 

Francis  II.  did  not  content  himself  with  protest- 
ing. He  struggled  against  ill  fortune  with  much 
more  energy  and  tenacity  than  fallen  sovereigns 
usually  do.  He  still  had  seventy  thousand  loyal 
troops,  well  organized,  and  supported  by  powerful 
artillery,  occupying  Gaeta  and  Capua,  with  all  the 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  NAPLES  227 


resources  of  a  regular  administration.  September 
30,  the  Neapolitans  crossed  the  Volturno  under 
Oajazzo.  A  battle  took  place  the  next  day.  To 
the  Neapolitans  it  was  a  question  of  recapturing 
Naples,  to  Garibaldi  of  retaining  it.  When  the 
fight  began,  Garibaldi  had  only  ten  thousand  men, 
soon  increased  to  fifteen  thousand,  among  them  the 
Piedmontese  soldiers  who  for  some  days  had  been 
garrisoning  the  fortresses  of  Naples.  The  success  of 
the  battle  seemed  doubtful,  when  the  Marquis  de 
Villamarina  took  it  on  himself  to  send  the  Pied- 
montese to  the  field,  where  they  did  not  arrive  until 
evening,  yet  soon  enough  to  serve  some  pieces  of  artil- 
lery and  compel  the  retreat  of  the  Neapolitans.  The 
latter  retired  in  good  order  and  reentered  Capua, 
which  Garibaldi  was  unable  to  besiege  without  the 
assistance  of  a  regular  army.  Asserted  by  the  offi- 
cers of  King  Victor  Emmanuel,  although  afterward 
disputed  by  the  dictator  and  his  lieutenants,  the 
necessity  of  the  Piedmontese  concurrence  seems 
beyond  doubt.  Garibaldi  himself  comprehended 
that  if  he  were  beaten  on  the  Volturno  or  the 
Garigliano,  and  if  he  besieged  Capua  and  Gaeta 
in  vain,  the  unitary  movement  would  be  compro- 
mised in  a  possibly  irreparable  manner.  After  the 
fight  of  October  1,  therefore,  he  was  wise  enough  to 
keep  on  the  defensive,  and  awaited  the  army  of 
King  Victor  Emmanuel,  lacking  which  one  may 
believe  that  his  audacious  enterprise  would  not 
have  come  to  a  successful  end. 


CHAPTER  XXXV 

THE   DIPLOMATIC   PROTESTS 

/^VCTOBER  4,  Victor  Emmanuel  was  at  Ancona, 
^^  where  the  Neapolitan  deputations  came  to  pay 
him  homage.  It  occurred  to  him,  just  as  he  was 
getting  ready  to  cross  the  frontier  with  his  troops, 
that  he  could  not  any  longer  retain  at  Turin,  as 
accredited  to  him,  the  representative  of  the  sovereign 
whose  States  he  was  about  to  usurp.  Consequently, 
on  the  6th,  Cavour  notified  Baron  Winspeare,  min- 
ister of  the  Two  Sicilies,  that  the  Sardinian  govern- 
ment intended  to  intervene  in  that  kingdom.  M. 
Giacometti  remarks  concerning  this  :  "  That  phrase 
to  intervene  has  a  very  curious  meaning  when  one 
reflects  that  it  is  precisely  in  virtue  of  the  principle 
of  non-intervention  that  Sardinia  has  been  able  to  go 
armed  into  the  Roman  States  in  the  first  place,  next 
into  the  State  of  the  Two  Sicilies,  and  to  annex 
these  countries  without  any  opposition  on  the  part 
of  Europe  except  unsanctioned  diplomatic  protests." 
Baron  Winspeare  replied  as  follows,  October  7,  to 
the  note  of  Count  Cavour :  "  The  occupation  of  the 
realm  of  the  Two  Sicilies  by  Piedmontese  troops  is  a 
fact  so  plainly  contrary  to  the  foundations  of  all  law 
and  right  that  it  would  seem  almost  useless  to  pause 

228 


THE  DIPLOMATIC  PROTESTS  229 

here  in  order  to  demonstrate  its  illegality  ;  the  facts 
which  have  preceded  this  invasion,  and  the  old  and 
intimate  ties  of  kindred  and  friendship  which  existed 
between  the  two  crowns,  render  it  so  new  and  ex- 
traordinary in  the  history  of  modern  nations,  that 
the  generous  mind  of  my  august  master  refused  to 
believe  it  possible." 

The  Neapolitan  diplomat  added :  "  At  this  fatal 
hour,  when  a  State  containing  ten  million  souls  is 
defending  by  arms  the  last  relics  of  its  historic 
autonomy,  it  would  be  idle  to  seek  to  discover  by 
whom  this  revolution  has  been  fortified  to  the  point 
of  becoming  a  colossus,  and  how  it  has  been  enabled 
to  effect  the  greater  part  of  the  ruin  it  had  planned. 
The  decree  of  that  Divine  Providence,  whose  sacred 
name  your  Excellency  has  invoked,  will  be  pro- 
nounced before  long,  at  the  time  of  the  final  combat ; 
but,  whatever  this  definitive  decree  may  be,  the 
blessing  of  heaven  will  certainly  not  descend  on 
those  who  are  preparing  to  violate  the  great  princi- 
ples of  social  and  moral  order  by  setting  themselves 
up  as  the  executors  of  a  mandate  of  God.  Even 
public  conscience,  when  once  more  free  from  the 
tyrannical  yoke  of  political  passions,  will  be  able  to 
assign  its  true  character  to  a  usurping  enterprise 
begun  by  craft  and  accomplished  by  violence." 

Two  days  later,  Baron  Winspeare  left  Turin.  It 
was  on  October  9  also  that  the  Piedmontese  troops 
crossed  the  Neapolitan  frontier  and  Victor  Emmanuel 
addressed  a  proclamation  to  the  peoples  of  southern 


230  NAPOLEON  III 


Italy.  The  conclusion  of  this  manifesto  was  as 
follows  :  "  I  await  with  calmness  the  judgment  of 
civilized  Europe  and  that  of  history,  because  I  am 
conscious  of  having  accomplished  my  duties  as  a 
king  and  an  Italian.  My  policy  will  perhaps  not  be 
without  its  value  to  Europe  in  reconciling  the  prog- 
ress of  peoples  with  the  stability  of  monarchies.  I 
know  that  in  Italy  I  am  putting  an  end  to  the  era 
of  revolutions." 

October  15,  before  any  vote  had  been  taken,  Gari- 
baldi thought  fit  to  proclaim  proprio  motu  the  reunion 
of  the  Two  Sicilies  to  the  kingdom  of  Italy;  he 
issued  the  following  decree,  dated  from  San  Angelo  : 
"  To  comply  with  a  wish  incontestably  dear  to  the 
entire  nation,  I  decree  that  the  Two  Sicilies,  which 
owe  their  redemption  to  Italian  blood,  and  which 
have  freely  elected  me  dictator,  form  an  integral 
part  of  Italy,  one  and  indivisible,  with  its  constitu- 
tional king,  Victor  Emmanuel,  and  his  descendants. 

"  I  will  resign  into  the  King's  hands,  on  his  arrival, 
the  dictatorship  confided  to  me  by  the  nation. 

"  The  prodictators  are  charged  with  the  execution 
of  the  present  decree." 

Everybody  was  wondering  what  the  great  Euro- 
pean powers  would  do.  For  an  instant  it  was  thought 
they  would  undertake  the  defence  of  King  Fran- 
cis II.  An  old  and  faithful  client  of  Russia,  the 
Neapolitan  dynasty  awakened  deep  sympathy  at  St. 
Petersburg.  Nicholas  I.,  father  of  the  Czar,  had  been 
an  intimate  friend  of  Ferdinand  II.,  father  of  the 


THE  DIPLOMATIC  PROTESTS  231 

King  of  Naples.  The  relations  between  the  two 
courts  had  never  ceased  to  be  particularly  cordial. 
Hence  it  was  supposed  that  the  Czar,  so  powerful  in 
the  European  concert,  would  find  some  means  of 
saving  a  monarch  in  whom  he  had  a  traditional 
interest. 

As  early  as  September  28,  Prince  Gortchakoff  had 
addressed  a  despatch  to  Prince  Gagarine,  minister 
of  Russia  at  Turin,  vehemently  protesting  against 
the  policy  of  King  Victor  Emmanuel.  The  chan- 
cellor expressed  himself  thus  :  "  Amidst  the  most 
profound  peace,  without  any  provocation,  even  with- 
out making  any  declaration  of  war,  the  Piedmontese 
government  has  ordered  its  troops  to  cross  the 
frontiers  of  the  Roman  States  ;  it  has  openly  com- 
pounded with  the  triumphant  revolution  at  Naples  ; 
it  has  sanctioned  the  acts  of  this  revolution  by  the 
presence  of  Piedmontese  troops  and  that  of  high 
functionaries  who  have  been  placed  at  the  head  of 
the  insurrection  without  ceasing  to  be  in  the  service 
of  King  Victor  Emmanuel.  Finally,  the  Sardinian 
government  has  just  rewarded  this  violation  of 
international  law  by  announcing,  in  the  face  of  all 
Europe,  its  intention  to  accept  the  annexation  to 
the  kingdom  of  Piedmont  of  territories  belonging 
to  sovereigns  still  present  in  their  dominions,  and 
there  defending  their  authority  against  the  attacks 
of  the  revolution." 

Prince  Gortchakoff  added  :  "  The  necessity  of 
combating  anarchy  under  which  the  Sardinian  gov- 


232  NAPOLEON  III 


eminent  claims  to  lie  does  not  justify  it,  for  it  is 
simply  keeping  pace  with  the  revolution  in  order 
to  harvest  its  leavings,  not  to  arrest  its  progress 
or  repair  its  iniquities.  Pretexts  of  this  sort  are  not 
admissible.  It  is  no  longer  a  question  of  Italian 
interests  merely,  but  of  general  interests,  common  to 
all  governments.  It  is  a  question  directly  connected 
with  those  eternal  laws  without  which  neither  order, 
nor  security,  nor  peace  could  exist  in  Europe." 

The  Czar  did  not  confine  himself  to  this  protest. 
He  took  the  more  serious  step  of  recalling  from 
Turin  his  minister  and  all  his  legation. 

The  conclusion  of  the  despatch  was  as  follows  : 
"  H.  M.  the  Emperor  deems  it  impossible  for  his  lega- 
tion to  remain  longer  in  a  place  where  it  must 
necessarily  witness  acts  which  its  conscience  and 
convictions  condemn.  His  Majesty  finds  himself 
obliged  to  put  an  end  to  the  functions  you  fulfil  at 
the  court  of  Sardinia.  It  is  our  master's  will  that 
on  receiving  these  instructions  you  should  ask  for 
your  passports  and  leave  Turin  instantly  with  all 
the  personnel  of  the  legation." 

The  cabinet  of  Berlin  also  passed  a  severe  judg- 
ment on  the  Piedmontese  policy.  Prussia,  destined 
to  be  the  Piedmont  of  Germany  a  few  years  later, 
still  had  respect  for  treaties,  and  did  not  suspect 
that  it  was  going  to  subject  several  sovereigns  of 
the  Germanic  Confederation  to  a  fate  similar  to  that 
of  the  Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany,  the  Duke  of  Parma, 
the   Duke   of   Modena,   and   the    King   of    Naples. 


THE  DIPLOMATIC  PROTESTS  233 

Count  Cavour  had  not,  as  yet,  played  the  professor, 
and  his  imitator,  Herr  von  Bismarck,  still  concealed 
his  ulterior  thoughts.  No  one  yet  foreboded  that 
alliance  between  Italy  and  Prussia,  of  which  Napo- 
leon III.  was  the  imprudent  promoter,  and  whose 
consequence  was  Sadowa.  The  advances  made  in 
1860  by  Cavour  to  the  Prince  Regent  of  Prussia, 
the  future  Emperor  of  Germany,  were  more  than 
coldly  received. 

The  Prussian  legation  was  not  recalled  from  Turin, 
but  the  court  of  Berlin  severely  censured  the  inva- 
sion of  the  States  of  the  Church  and  that  of  the 
kingdom  of  Naples.  Comte  Brassier  de  Saint-Simon, 
minister  of  Prussia  at  Turin,  received  from  Baron 
Schleinitz,  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  a  despatch 
dated  from  Coblentz,  October  13,  in  which  it  was 
said  :  "  The  army  which  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  had 
formed  to  maintain  public  order  has  been  attacked 
and  dispersed.  And  far  from  halting  in  the  path 
which  it  is  pursuing  in  contempt  of  international 
law,  the  Sardinian  government  has  just  ordered  its 
army  to  cross  the  frontiers  of  the  kingdom  of  Naples 
at  several  points,  with  the  avowed  object  of  coming 
to  the  support  of  the  insurrection  and  making  a 
military  occupation  of  the  country. 

"  Meanwhile,  the  Piedmontese  chambers  are  con- 
sidering a  proposed  law  tending  to  effectuate  new 
annexations  in  virtue  of  universal  suffrage,  thus 
inviting  the  Italian  populations  to  declare  in  due 
form  the  downfall  of  their  princes.     Thus  it  is  that 


234  NAPOLEON  III 


the  Sardinian  government,  even  while  invoking  the 
principle  of  non-intervention  in  favor  of  Italy,  does 
not  recoil  from  the  most  flagrant  violations  of  that 
principle  in  its  relations  with  other  Italian  States." 

The  Prussian  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  ended 
his  despatch  as  follows  :  "  Invited  to  express  our 
sentiments  concerning  such  acts  and  principles,  we 
cannot  but  deplore  them  deeply  and  sincerely,  and 
we  believe  ourselves  to  be  fulfilling  a  strict  duty  by 
expressing  in  the  most  explicit  and  formal  manner 
our  disapproval  both  of  the  principles  and  the  appli- 
cation it  has  been  thought  possible  to  make  of 
them." 

M.  Giacometti  has  made  the  following  reflection 
on  this  despatch,  "  Could  any  one  have  made  Von 
Schleinitz  believe  that  a  day  would  come  when  a 
King  of  Prussia,  Emperor  of  Germany,  would  vaunt 
in  sounding  discourses  the  intangible  capital  of  that 
Italy  whose  measures  of  unification  now  provoked 
Prussian  protests  like  these  !  " 

In  1860,  Prussia  boasted  of  respecting  time-hon- 
ored law.  It  agreed  with  Russia  and  seemed  to 
cling  above  all  things  to  the  maintenance  of  the 
treaties  of  1815.  This  attitude  of  the  two  northern 
powers  suggested  to  the  Austrian  government  the 
idea  of  profiting  by  it.  It  wondered  whether  the 
time  had  not  come  to  establish  a  moral  and  material 
solidarity  between  the  monarchies  which  would  be 
able  to  stop  the  encroachments  of  the  European 
revolution.     Would  not   the    Italian   movement   be 


THE  DIPLOMATIC  PROTESTS  235 

the  signal  for  revolts  in  Hungary?  Might  not 
to-morrow  see  the  awakening  of  Poland  ?  Francis 
Joseph  thought  that  a  conservative  policy  might 
prevail,  and  the  dispossessed  Italian  sovereigns  took 
heart  when  they  learned  that  the  Czar,  the  Emperor 
of  Austria,  and  the  Prince  Regent  of  Prussia  were 
to  meet  at  Warsaw. 


CHAPTER   XXXVI 

THE   INTERVIEW    OF    WARSAW 

I~N  September,  after  a  dinner  given  at  Schonbrunn 
in  honor  of  the  Czar's  name  day,  the  Emperor 
Francis  Joseph  asked  the  Russian  minister  to 
express  to  Alexander  II.  his  great  desire  for  an 
interview.  The  Czar,  who  had  not  forgotten  the  in- 
cidents of  the  Crimean  war,  considered  this  proceed- 
ing of  the  Austrian  monarch  a  sort  of  apology,  and 
immediately  replied  that  Francis  Joseph  would  be 
welcome.  It  was  agreed  that  the  interview  should 
take  place  at  Warsaw,  and  that  the  two  Emperors 
should  meet  the  Prince  Regent  of  Prussia  there. 

The  Due  de  Montebello,  ambassador  of  France  at 
St.  Petersburg,  wrote  to  M.  Thouvenel,  September 
14  :  "  The  interview  of  the  three  sovereigns  will 
make  talk  in  Europe  about  a  coalition  and  a  holy 
alliance  ;  nothing  is  further  from  Russia's  thoughts, 
and  the  language  used  by  Prince  Gortchakoff  in 
apprising  me  of  it  was  this  :  '  It  is  the  great  and 
sincere  desire  of  the  Emperor  Alexander  that  this 
interview  may  bring  about  a  general  understanding 
between  the  great  powers,  and  banish  the  suspicions 
which  injuriously  affect  the  great  interests  of 
Europe.  I  am  certain  that  Russia  will  bring  to  it 
very  friendly  dispositions  toward  France.' " 

236 


THE  INTERVIEW  OF  WARSAW  237 

September  16,  the  Czar  sent  for  the  Due  de 
Montebello,  and  said  to  him  :  "  You  know  that  the 
Prince  Regent  of  Prussia  and  the  Emperor  of 
Austria  are  coming  to  see  me  at  Warsaw  ;  public 
opinion  has  been  very  much  occupied  with  this 
interview,  even  before  it  was  decided  on.  It  sur- 
mised the  germ  of  a  coalition  in  it.  I  have  wished 
to  come  to  an  understanding  with  you  as  to  my  own 
intentions  in  going  there  ;  I  need  not  say  that  they 
will  be  friendly  toward  France.  It  is  not  a  coalition 
that  I  am  going  to  make  at  Warsaw,  but  a  reconcili- 
ation, and  it  pleases  me  to  know  that  the  Prince 
Regent  is  of  the  same  mind.  Tell  the  Emperor 
Napoleon  that  he  can  trust  me." 

After  having  declared  that  its  object  was  to  bring 
about  a  general  understanding  between  the  great 
powers,  the  Russian  court  asked  the  French  govern- 
ment to  let  it  know  how  far  it  could  go  toward 
accomplishing  this  result. 

French  diplomacy  has  seldom  been  called  upon  to 
exert  itself  in  circumstances  so  delicate.  It  was 
necessary,  even  while  censuring  Piedmont,  not  to  do 
so  in  a  manner  which  could  encourage  the  court  of 
Austria  in  its  own  ideas  of  aggression  ;  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  to  make  the  court  of  Turin  understand 
that  if  it  had  had  the  slightest  notion  of  attacking 
Venetia,  France  would  not  allow  itself  to  be  either 
intimidated  or  involved,  and  that  its  armies  would 
not  be  at  the  disposal  of  the  King  of  Sardinia. 

M.    Thouvenel    drew   up   a   memorandum    dated 


238  NAPOLEON  III 


September    25,    which    had    the    four    points    sub- 
joined :  — 

1.  If  Italy  attacks  Venice,  the  Germanic  powers 
remaining  neutral,  France  will  lend  it  no  support ; 

2.  The  state  of  things  which  brought  about  the 
last  war  will  not  be  restored.  Lombardy  will  not 
be  brought  in  question  ; 

3.  Everything  which  concerns  the  territorial 
limits  of  Italy  will  be  submitted  to  a  congress  ; 

4.  Nice  and  Savoy  will  not  be  subjects  of  discus- 
sion at  the  Congress,  even  though  Italy  should  lose 
the  acquisitions  it  has  made  since  the  stipulations  of 
Villafranca  and  Zurich. 

M.  Thouvenel  was  arguing  solely  in  anticipation 
of  an  aggression  by  Italy  against  Austria,  apart  from 
which  supposition  he  could  foresee  no  circumstance 
to  which  the  bases  of  his  memorandum  would  not 
apply. 

In  a  despatch  of  October  17,  addressed  to  the 
Due  de  Montebello,  the  minister  summed  up  the 
leading  idea  of  the  Emperor's  Italian  policy  as 
follows  :  "  Great  questions  are  not  solved  by  force 
alone.  A  material  action  might,  no  doubt,  put  an 
end  to  the  encroachments  of  Piedmont  ;  it  would 
not  suffice  to  reconstitute  Italy  and  assure  the 
security  of  Europe.  Were  the  former  governments 
reintegrated  by  foreign  intervention,  they  could 
sustain  themselves  only  by  means  of  a  prolonged 
occupation,  and  experience  has  more  than  sufficiently 
proved  the  radical  defects  of  such  a  system.     All  it 


THE  INTERVIEW  OF   WARSAW  239 

could  do  would  be  to  recur  to  a  circle  recognized  as 
vicious  by  all  the  world,  and  which  sooner  or  later 
would  again  be  broken." 

After  laying  it  down  as  fundamental  that  France 
could  not  recommence,  under  Napoleon  III.,  in 
Italy,  what  it  had  undertaken  in  Spain,  under  Louis 
XVIII.,  the  minister  added  :  "  Imperial  France 
is  not  revolutionary.  The  hatred  excited  by  it  in 
a  certain  camp  is  sufficient  proof  that  it  is  there 
regarded  as  the  most  redoubtable  and  most  deter- 
mined enemy  of  the  mobocracy.  But  it  is  neither 
in  its  nature  nor  in  its  power  to  prevent  the  down- 
falls or  the  transformations  which  the  lapse  of  time 
and  the  faults  of  men  have  brought  about.  Only 
malevolence  and  calumny  can  pretend  that  the 
Emperor  has  not  seen  with  profound  regret  the 
development  of  events  in  the  Roman  States  and 
the  kingdom  of  Naples.  We  do  not  approve  all 
that  takes  place  in  Italy ;  our  conscience  condemns 
the  means  employed,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  our 
reason  does  not  permit  us  to  champion  there  the 
regimes  which  have  been  destroyed." 

The  despatch  concluded  as  follows  :  "  What  will 
issue  from  this  volcano  in  eruption  ?  Nobody  knows, 
and  it  would  be  rash  to  lay  down  for  one's  self  a 
fixed  course  of  action  in  advance.  To  devote  all 
their  efforts  to  averting  a  general  war,  disastrous  to 
civilization  ;  to  endeavor  that  the  great  European 
powers,  by  means  of  an  intelligent  and  loyal  under- 
standing, shall   provide  a   solution  for   redoubtable 


240  NAPOLEON  III 


problems  ;  that,  in  my  opinion,  is  the  end  which  the 
cabinets  should  aim  at,  and  the  work  in  which  we 
are  ready  to  concur." 

The  Emperor  Alexander  adopted  the  substance  of 
M.  Thouvenel's  memorandum  and  made  it,  so  to 
say,  the  theme  of  the  interview  of  Warsaw.  This 
lasted  from  the  22d  to  the  26th  of  October.  The 
Czar,  the  Emperor  Francis  Joseph,  and  the  Prince 
Regent  of  Prussia  had  brought  with  them  their 
Ministers  of  Foreign  Affairs,  Prince  Gortchakoff, 
Count  von  Rechberg,  and  Baron  von  Schleinitz. 
One  might  have  thought  the  destinies  of  the  world 
were  to  be  decided  in  this  great  political  conclave. 
But  all  that  passed  between  the  sovereigns  was  an 
exchange  of  trifling  courtesies.  The  Ministers  of 
Foreign  Affairs  held  conferences,  but  without  coming 
to  any  decision  of  importance.  The  obstacles  which 
several  months  before  had  prevented  the  assembling 
of  a  Congress,  had  merely  been  increasing  ever  since. 
From  the  moment  when  it  was  admitted  that  force 
would  not  be  resorted  to,  the  resolutions  of  the 
cabinets  were  stricken  with  sterility  in  advance,  and 
the  world  would  infallibly  have  witnessed  the  twin 
spectacle  of  Europe  regulating  the  destinies  of  Italy 
on  one  hand,  and  Italy  refusing  to  submit  to  the 
decision  of  Europe  on  the  other. 

It  might  have  been  supposed  that  the  courts  of 
Russia,  Austria,  and  Prussia,  which  had  displayed 
such  indignation  against  Victor  Emmanuel's  conduct 
toward  the  King  of   Naples,  would  make  a  formal 


THE  INTERVIEW  OF   WARSAW  241 

appeal  to  Europe  in  favor  of  the  luckless  sovereign. 
They  had  not  even  an  idea  of  defending  his  rights, 
and  confined  themselves  to  protecting  Piedmont 
against  the  chance  of  an  intervention  of  the  powers. 
Was  Europe  justified  in  censuring  the  Italian  policy 
of  Napoleon  III.  when  it  did  not  itself  make  the 
slightest  move  toward  hindering  the  progress  of  the 
Revolution  ?  What  did  the  vehement  protests  of 
the  three  courts  result  in?     Nothing  at  all. 

The  conferences  of  Warsaw  were  cut  short  by  tid- 
ings of  the  fatal  illness  of  the  dowager  Empress  of 
Russia.  The  Czar  went  back  in  haste  to  St.  Peters- 
burg. The  sovereigns  separated  without  having 
settled  anything,  but  that  did  not  prevent  their  con- 
gratulating each  other  as  if  they  had  saved  the 
world. 

From  the  moment  he  attained  the  conviction  that 
France  would  not  support  Sardinia  in  an  attack  on 
Venetia,  which  for  him  was  the  essential  thing,  the 
Emperor  Francis  Joseph  easily  reconciled  himself  to 
his  inability  to  do  anything  for  the  dispossessed 
Italian  sovereigns. 

The  cabinet  of  Berlin  declared  itself  fully  satis- 
fied. Prince  Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen,  president 
of  the  ministerial  council  of  Prussia,  wrote  to  Prince 
Gortchakoff,  October  26  :  "  At  the  moment  when 
the  august  sovereigns  are  quitting  Warsaw,  I  come 
to  beg  you  to  make  yourself  the  organ  near  the 
Emperor  Alexander  of  those  sentiments  of  lively 
gratitude    awakened    in    Monseigneur    the    Prince 


242  NAPOLEON  III 


Regent  by  the  new  proofs  which  his  Majesty  has 
just  given  of  his  profound  solicitude  for  the  main- 
tenance of  the  peace  of  Europe  and  for  the  consoli- 
dation of  that  confidence  which  ought  to  preside 
over  the  relations  of  the  powers.  In  this  respect  an 
important  result  has  been  obtained  by  the  communi- 
cation of  a  document  in  which  are  expressed  the 
ideas  of  the  Emperor  of  the  French  on  the  Italian 
question,  and  the  exchange  of  ideas  to  which  this 
communication  gave  rise." 

The  sovereigns  of  the  North  separated  October 
26.  The  next  day  England,  which  had  not  been 
represented  at  the  interview  of  Warsaw,  began  to 
speak.  Lord  John  Russell,  chief  of  the  Foreign 
Office,  addressed  to  Sir  James  Hudson,  minister  of 
England  at  Turin,  a  sensational  despatch  to  be  com- 
municated to  Count  Cavour,  or  rather  to  all  Italy, 
and  which  was  a  noisy,  enthusiastic  approval  of  the 
entire  Piedmontese  policy.  Lord  John  Russell  cited 
the  famous  jurist  Vattel,  who  had  affirmed  as  legit- 
imate the  intervention  of  the  Prince  of  Orange 
to  support  the  English  revolution  and  dethrone 
James  II.  "What  is  there  astonishing,"  added  the 
minister,  "  about  the  fact  that  in  1860  the  Neapoli- 
tans, distrustful  and  full  of  resentment,  drive  out 
the  Bourbons,  as  in  1688  England  drove  out  the 
Stuarts  ?  "  According  to  Lord  John  Russell,  "  the 
Italian  revolution  was  conducted  with  a  rare  and 
singular  moderation.  The  venerated  forms  of  con- 
stitutional monarchy  were  associated  to  the  name  of 


THE  INTERVIEW  OF  WARSAW  243 

a  prince  representing   an  ancient   and  glorious   dy- 
nasty."   The  English  minister  concluded  as  follows  : 
"  The  government  of  the  Queen  can  see  no  sufficient 
motive  for  the  severity  with  which  Austria,  Prussia, 
and  Russia  have  censured  the  acts  of  the  King  of 
Sardinia.     The  government  of  her  Majesty  prefers 
to  fix  its  attention  upon  the  agreeable  spectacle  of  a 
people  erecting  the  edifice  of  its  liberty,  and  consoli- 
dating the  work  of  its  independence,  surrounded  by 
the  sympathies  and  sincere  good-wishes  of  Europe." 
The  same  Lord  John  Russell,  ardent  apologist  as 
he  was  of  the  invasion  of  the  Marches,  Umbria,  and 
the  Two  Sicilies,  considered  as  sacred  the  rights  of 
Austria  over  Venetia,  and  would  have  described  as 
a   violation   of    international   law   any   attempt    to 
deliver   it.     For   all   that,  his    memorable  despatch 
had  an  immense  success  at  Turin.     Without  risking 
anything,  spending  anything,  or  making  any  outlay 
beyond  that   of   phrases,  England   had   substituted 
itself   for  France  in  the  gratitude  of   Italy.     Maz- 
zini's  predictions  were  being  realized.     In  a   letter 
from  Florence,  September  20,  1859,  he  had  written 
to  Victor  Emmanuel,  "  Diplomacy  is  like  a  midnight 
ghost  ;  a  menacing  giant  to  the  sight  of  those  that 
fear  it,  it  melts  like  a  fine  mist   before  those  who 
resolutely  go  to  meet  it."     The  secret  of  all  the  suc- 
cesses of   Piedmontese  policy  was  to  have  had  the 
conviction  that  diplomatic  remonstrances  were  to  be 
considered  null  and  void  so  long  as  force  was  not 
their  base  and  sanction. 


CHAPTER   XXXVII 

VICTOR   EMMANUEL   AT   NAPLES 

"YTICTOR  EMMANUEL  had  nothing  further  to 
*  fear  from  the  great  powers.  Sure  of  impunity, 
he  could  go  straight  to  his  object.  While  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  Two  Sicilies  were  voting  the  plebiscite, 
he  crossed  the  Neapolitan  frontier  and  went  by  short 
day's  marches  toward  Naples.  Garibaldi  came  to 
meet  the  sovereign.  They  met  near  Teano,  October 
26.  The  King  was  at  the  head  of  two  Piedmontese 
divisions.  Making  use  of  a  lorgnette,  he  recognized 
Garibaldi  at  a  distance,  and  spurred  his  horse  to 
meet  him  the  sooner.  Garibaldi  did  the  same.  At 
this  moment,  some  officers  having  exclaimed,  "Long 
live  Victor  Emmanuel!  "  he  added,  taking  off  his  hat, 
"  King  of  Italy  !  "  At  this  phrase,  Victor  Emman- 
uel raised  his  hand  to  his  cap,  and  then  held  it 
out  to  the  conqueror  of  the  Two  Sicilies,  saying, 
"Thanks."  They  rode  on,  holding  each  other's 
hand  for  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  A  halt  was 
made  at  Teano,  a  town  some  twenty  kilometres  from 
Capua.  The  King  made  his  troops  defile  in  front  of 
Garibaldi,  and  then  reviewed  the  Garibaldian  troops 
in  person.  October  29,  the  dictator  resigned  his 
powers  to  the  sovereign. 

244 


GARIBALDI. 


VICTOR   EMMANUEL   AT  NAPLES  24o 

The  Neapolitan  troops  still  held  out  at  Capua, 
some  twenty-eight  kilometres  from  Naples,  and  the 
Garibaldians  were  unable  to  dislodge  them.  This 
was  the  work  of  the  Piedmontese  army.  The  cit}' 
did  not  surrender  until  November  2,  after  a  siege 
which  had  lasted  forty-eight  days.  All  that  Victor 
Emmanuel  now  had  to  do  was  to  make  his  trium- 
phal entry  into  the  capital  of  the  kingdom.  This 
was  effected  on  November  7.  The  Piedmontese 
troops  and  the  national  guard  formed  the  line.  The 
Garibaldian  army  took  no  part  in  the  ceremony.  A 
few  officers  in  red  jackets  alone  witnessed  it  from  a 
balcony.     Maxime  du  Camp  describes  it  thus  :  — 

"  It  is  raining  in  torrents.  A  strong  east  wind 
blows  across  the  city  in  incessant  squalls.  The  ves- 
sels in  the  harbor  rock  so  that  their  yards  dip  into 
the  sea.  The  bad  weather  has  prevented  the  com- 
pletion of  the  preparations.  The  headless  statues 
stretch  across  the  inundated  streets  symbolic  hands, 
empty  of  flags.  The  triumphal  arches  are  mere 
skeletons.  The  painted  hangings,  snatched  off  by 
the  wind,  beat  against  the  uncovered  scaffoldings. 
An  immense  crowd  throngs  the  city  from  the  rail- 
way station  to  the  Palais-Royal.  It  is  like  an 
immense  forest  of  umbrellas." 

It  is  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning.  The  cannon 
roar  from  the  forts.  The  King  makes  his  entry. 
He  goes  first  to  the  cathedral,  accompanied  by  Gari- 
baldi ;  then  he  gets  into  a  carriage  to  reach  the 
Palais-Royal.     On  his  right  sits  Garibaldi,  his  red 


246  NAPOLEON  III 


soldier's  jacket  covered  by  a  gray  mantle.  On  the 
front  seat  of  the  royal  carriage  one  sees  M.  Palla- 
vicino,  prodictator  of  Naples,  in  a  black  coat,  and 
M.  Antoine  Mordini,  prodictator  of  Sicily,  in  a  red 
shirt.  The  crowd  is  pleased  with  the  latter  for  hav- 
ing retained  the  Garibaldian  costume  ;  for,  as  M. 
Maxime  du  Camp  says,  it  is  really  the  red  shirt,  that 
is  to  say  Italian  independence  by  the  revolution, 
which  ought  to  do  the  honors  of  the  city  of  Naples 
to  Victor  Emmanuel.  Cries  of  '  Long  live  Garibaldi! ' 
are  still  more  numerous  than  those  of  '  Long  live  the 
King  !  '  " 

Victor  Emmanuel  offered  the  collar  of  the  Annun- 
ciade  to  Garibaldi  and  to  M.  Pallavicino.  Garibaldi 
refused  it  and  received  unwillingly  the  title  of  gen- 
eralissimo, equivalent  to  the  rank  of  marshal.  He  was 
also  offered  an  appanage  for  his  eldest  son,  a  posi- 
tion as  aide-de-camp  to  the  King  for  his  second  son, 
a  dowry  for  his  daughter,  his  choice  among  all  the 
royal  chateaux,  and  a  steamship.  He  refused  every- 
thing. What  he  had  asked  for  was  the  title  of  lieu- 
tenant general  of  the  King  in  the  Two  Sicilies  for 
a  year,  with  unlimited  powers.  As  it  was  known 
that,  in  this  situation,  his  sole  idea  would  be  to 
organize  an  expedition  against  the  Pope,  Victor 
Emmanuel  responded  to  this  request  by  the  single 
phrase,  "  That  is  impossible." 

Garibaldi  was  greatly  affected  by  this  refusal. 
"  You  know  what  they  do  with  oranges,"  said  he  to 
Admiral  Persano  ;  "  they  squeeze  out  the  juice  and 


VICTOR   EMMANUEL  AT  NAPLES  247 

then  throw  them  into  a  corner."  In  the  little  island 
of  Caprera  he  owned  a  small  estate,  his  sole  posses- 
sion, which  brought  him  a  yearly  income  of  about 
fifteen  hundred  francs.  Thither  he  retired  while 
awaiting  the  time  when  he  could  reappear  on  battle- 
fields. 

November  8,  he  bade  adieu  to  his  companions  in 
arms  by  a  proclamation  dated  from  Naples.  "  Provi- 
dence," said  he,  "  makes  a  gift  of  Italy  to  Victor 
Emmanuel.  Every  Italian  ought  to  join  him,  to 
rally  round  him.  Beside  the  Re  Galantuomo  all 
disputation  should  vanish,  all  rancor  disappear. 
Once  more  I  repeat  to  you  my  cry  :  To  arms  !  all  ! 
all!  Poor  liberty,  poor  Italian  land,  if  in  March,  1861, 
there  are  not  found  a  million  of  Italians  under  arms  ! 
Oh  !  no  ;  far  from  me  be  a  thought  which  disgusts 
me  like  a  poison  !  The  month  of  March,  1861,  if 
need  be  that  of  February,  will  find  us  all  at  our 
post.  Italians  of  Catalafimi,  of  Palermo,  of  Ancona, 
of  Castelfidardo,  of  Isernia ;  and  with  us  every 
man  of  this  land  who  is  not  cowardly,  not  servile, 
all  thronged  about  the  glorious  soldier  of  Palestro, 
we  shall  give  the  last  shock,  the  last  blow  at  a 
decaying  tyranny." 

At  daybreak,  November  9,  Garibaldi  got  into  a 
small  boat  which  he  himself  unfastened,  and  rowed 
out  to  the  steamer  Washington,  placed  at  his 
disposal  for  his  voyage  to  Caprera.  He  took  with 
him  only  his  three  old  and  faithful  friends,  —  Basso, 
Giusmaroli,  and  Froccinati.     Of  the  enormous  sums 


248  NAPOLEON  III 


which  he  had  just  been  handling,  all  he  carried  away 
was  ten  piastres  (ten  dollars),  and  a  sack  of  beans 
which  he  proposed  to  cultivate  in  his  hermitage  of 
Caprera  until  the  day  when  he  should  march  to  the 
deliverance  of  the  "  brothers  still  slaves  of  the 
foreigner." 

While  Victor  Emmanuel  was  installing  himself  at 
Naples,  all  that  remained  to  the  unfortunate  Fran- 
cis II.  was  the  little  city  of  Gaeta,  situated  on  the 
Mediterranean,  seventy  kilometres  from  Naples. 
His  conduct  there,  and  that  of  his  queen,  merited  the 
admiration  of  his  adversaries  themselves.  Supported 
by  faithful  troops,  the  dispossessed  king  displayed 
an  unexpected  energy  at  Gaeta.  Possibly  he  was 
building  hopes  on  the  sentiments  of  France,  which 
not  merely  disregarded  the  blockade  declared  by  the 
Piedmontese  government,  but  sent  into  the  harbor 
of  that  fortified  city  the  evolutionary  squadron  com- 
manded by  Vice  Admiral  Barbier  de  Tinan.  This 
was  simply  a  last  illusion  for  the  partisans  of 
Francis  II.  Napoleon  III.  wished  to  give  the  King 
of  Naples  a  mark  of  his  personal  friendship  by  saving 
him  the  painful  necessity  of  owing  his  liberty  to  a 
capitulation  ;  but  he  had  no  thought  of  serious 
intervention  in  his  favor. 

M.  Thouvenel  wrote  to  Admiral  de  Tinan,  Octo- 
ber 30,  that  the  Emperor  meant  to  protect  the 
dignity  of  King  Francis  II.  in  his  final  moments  of 
trial,  but  had  no  intention  of  encouraging  him  to 
continue  a  struggle  which  had  become  too  unequal. 


VICTOR  EMMANUEL   AT  NAPLES  249 

M.  Thouvenel  added  :  "  The  Neapolitan  people  has 
been  summoned  to  cast  a  vote  which  must  for  the 
moment  destroy  the  hopes  of  the  court  of  Gaeta  as 
to  a  change  in  public  opinion.  This  being  the  sit- 
uation, it  is  permissible  to  inquire  whether  King 
Francis  II.,  now  that  his  honor  is  safe,  ought  not  to 
accommodate  himself  to  circumstances,  and  avoid 
shedding  in  vain  the  blood  of  the  soldiers  who  have 
remained  faithful  to  him.  Whenever  you  have  a 
chance,  the  Emperor  authorizes  you  to  let  King 
Francis  II.  understand  that  he  has  prolonged  his 
resistance  as  far  as  the  dignity  of  his  crown  required 
and  the  desertion  of  his  subjects  permitted." 

Francis  II.  did  not  follow  this  advice.  He 
resisted  for  two  and  a  half  months  longer. 

Listen  once  more  to  Maxime  Du  Camp,  who 
sailed  past  Gaeta  on  his  return  to  France  after 
Garibaldi's  departure  for  Caprera  :  "  At  nightfall," 
says  he,  "we  arrived  before  Gaeta.  The  French  fleet 
had  kindled  its  fires  ;  lights  gleamed  in  the  city. 
All  the  passengers  on  deck  were  looking  toward  the 
ramparts,  whose  dark  mass  could  hardly  be  distin- 
guished against  the  profound  darkness  of  the  sky. 
They  were  talking  about  Francis  II.  Would  he 
resist  ?  Would  he  surrender  ?  He  is  right  ;  he  is 
wrong  !  Every  one  gave  his  opinion.  I  kept 
silence,  and  I  thought :  As  a  man,  he  is  absolutely 
wrong  to  prolong  a  resistance  which  cannot  save  him 
in  any  case ;  as  a  king,  he  is  right,  not  because  it 
safeguards  his  honor,  but   because  he  is  giving  the 


250  NAPOLEON  III 


kings  by  divine  right  a  chance  to  declare  themselves 
and  rescue  him,  under  pain  of  abandoning  to  the 
chances  of  revolutions  the  principle  in  virtue  of 
which  they  reign.  Governments  which  issue  from 
the  same  stock  are  jointly  and  severally  responsible 
for  each  other.  ...  If  the  absolute  kings  of  Eu- 
rope do  not  save  this  member  of  their  family  who 
is  fighting  for  the  common  principle,  they  are  lost  ; 
some  day  they  will  be  abandoned  as  they  are  now 
abandoning.  In  falling,  Francis  II.  can  turn  to 
those  who  call  him  brother  and  say,  Hodie  mihi,  eras 
tibi." 

The  European  sovereigns  did  not  disturb  them- 
selves about  what  Maxime  Du  Camp  calls  their 
solidarity.  They  lent  the  unhappy  King  of  Naples 
a  purely  illusory  support,  but  with  the  natural  prog- 
ress of  events  they  did  not  interfere.  Yet  there 
was  one  among  them,  the  Empress  Eugenie,  who 
took  the  Italian  matter  keenly  to  heart.  Devoted 
to  Pius  IX.,  her  son's  godfather,  and  a  great  admirer 
of  the  heroism  displayed  at  Gaeta  by  the  young 
Queen  of  Naples,  she  had  longed  to  see  France 
render  efficient  aid  to  both  the  Holy  Father  and 
Francis  II.  Saddened  and  disappointed  by  her  lack 
of  influence,  and  still  a  prey  to  the  melancholy 
which  had  weighed  upon  her  since  the  death  of  her 
sister,  the  Duchess  of  Alba,  she  suddenly  resolved 
upon  a  long  journey  which  might  divert  her  from 
her  sorrow.  This  she  determined  to  make  incog- 
nita, travelling  as  a  private  person,  without  pomp  or 


VICTOR   EMMANUEL   AT  NAPLES  251 

ceremony.  It  was  a  sort  of  apprenticeship  to  the 
still  more  painful  journeys  fate  held  in  reserve  for 
her.  Feeling  that  the  more  brilliant  aspects  of 
nature  would  but  increase  or  irritate  her  chagrin, 
she  avoided  Italy  and  Spain,  and  set  out  for  England 
and  Scotland,  whose  mists  and  fogs  were  more  in 
harmony  with  the  melancholy  of  her  heart. 

November  14,  at  six  in  the  morning,  the  Empress 
left  the  Chateau  of  Saint-Cloud,  accompanied  by  her 
equerry,  the  Marquis  de  Lagrange,  and  two  of  her 
ladies,  Madame  de  Saulcy  and  the  Comtesse  de 
Montebello.  On  arriving  at  Paris,  she  went  directly 
to  the  Gare  du  Nord,  where  the  equerry  bought  the 
tickets  necessary  for  her  and  her  suite.  She  had 
been  unwilling  to  reserve  a  carriage,  and  entered  the 
ordinary  train  under  the  name  of  the  Comtesse  de 
Pierrefonds.  Neither  the  Comte  de  Persigny  nor 
any  member  of  the  embassy  came  to  meet  her  on  her 
arrival  in  London.  Nor  did  any  one  recognize  her 
as  she  passed  through  the  city. 

The  Emperor  left  Saint-Cloud,  November  22,  for 
the  Tuileries.  The  27th  he  went  to  Compiegne 
with  his  son.  Here  he  hunted  for  three  days  and 
returned  to  Paris  with  the  Prince  Imperial,  on  the 
last  day  of  the  month,  accompanied  by  the  Comte  de 
Morny,  the  Comte  Bacciochi,  and  General  Fleury. 

Meanwhile  the  Empress  was  continuing  her  jour- 
ney in  England  and  Scotland.  She  did  not  long 
succeed  in  preserving  her  incognita,  and  wherever 
she  was  recognized,  the  people  gave  her  a  hearty 


252  NAPOLEON  III 


welcome.  That  she  received  in  Manchester,  where 
her  coming  had  been  unexpected,  was  all  the  more 
significant  on  that  account.  At  Windsor  she  was 
received  by  the  Prince  Consort  on  alighting  from 
the  train,  and  taken  in  a  court  carriage  to  Windsor 
Castle,  where  the  Queen  was  awaiting  her.  There 
she  was  received  by  her  British  Majesty,  accom- 
panied by  the  Princess  Alice,  Prince  Alfred,  and  the 
ladies  and  gentlemen  on  duty.  The  Duke  of  Cam- 
bridge, Prince  Louis  of  Hesse,  Lord  Granville,  the 
Duke  of  Newcastle,  and  Lord  Palmerston  came  to 
pay  their  respects  to  the  august  visitor.  The 
Duchess  of  Kent  had  also  come  to  Windsor.  After 
a  visit  of  two  hours,  the  Empress  returned  to  Lon- 
don amidst  acclamations.  During  the  whole  time 
of  her  stay  at  Windsor,  the  bells  of  St.  John's  had 
been  ringing  in  her  honor.  Fortunate  or  unfortu- 
nate, the  Empress  Eugenie  has  always  been  treated 
like  a  sister  by  Queen  Victoria. 

The  journey  of  the  Empress,  from  which  she 
returned  December  13,  in  much  improved  health, 
had  lasted  just  a  month.  During  her  absence  the 
Emperor  had  taken  a  grave  resolution.  By  the 
decree  of  November  24  he  had  entered  upon  a  lib- 
eral career. 


CHAPTER   XXXVIII 

THE   DECREE   OF    NOVEMBER   24 

IKE  the  commercial  treaty  with  England,  the 
-^  decree  of  November  24  was  a  surprise,  a  dra- 
matic stroke.  The  old  opposition  found  itself  with- 
out its  weapons.  Silence  reigned  around  imperial 
institutions.  No  one  was  expecting  reforms,  when 
the  Emperor,  acting  proprio  motu,  issued  this  decree, 
which  introduced  profound  modifications  in  the 
regime  :  — 

1.  The  Senate  and  the  Corps  Legislatif  were 
called  upon  to  vote  a  reply  to  the  speech  from  the 
throne  every  year  at  the  opening  of  the  session,  and, 
at  the  time  of  the  debate  on  this  address,  the  gov- 
ernment commissioners  were  to  give  the  Chambers 
all  necessary  explanations  of  internal  and  external 
policy. 

2.  Ministers  without  portfolio  were  instituted  for 
the  purpose  of  defending  governmental  projects  of 
law  in  concert  with  the  president  and  members  of 
the  Council  of  State. 

3.  Legislative  debates  were  reproduced  in  full. 

4.  Exercise  of  the  right  of  amendment  was  guar- 
anteed to  the  Corps  Legislatif. 

The   Constitutionnel,  the  semi-official  journal,  pub- 

253 


254  NAPOLEON  in 


lished  a  long  article,  believed  to  be  drawn  up  by  the 
Emperor,  which  was  considered  an  explanation  of 
the  decree.  It  said  :  "  Attentive  to  some  symptoms 
which  might  pass  unperceived  by  others,  the  Em- 
peror has  recognized  that  the  action  of  the  great 
bodies  of  State  in  his  government,  although  so  effica- 
cious, is  not  made  sufficiently  evident  to  the  people. 
He  has  desired  that  the  concurrence  of  the  Senate 
and  the  Corps  Legislatif,  which  is  of  so  much  util- 
ity, may  be  better  appreciated  by  the  country." 

The  writer  of  the  article  was  not  sparing  of  criti- 
cisms on  the  existing  state  of  things  before  the 
decree.  "  The  condition  of  things  which  has  just 
been  changed  had  revealed  certain  defective  sides. 
The  government  had  not  sufficient  means  to  mani- 
fest its  own  mind  and  learn  that  of  the  country. 
The  debates  carried  on  in  the  Chambers  were  assur- 
edly very  serious,  and  sometimes  brilliant,  but  they 
were  hampered  by  too  narrow  restrictions.  Poli- 
tics, which  ought  never  to  be  stifled  in  a  French  as- 
sembly, were  only  reproduced  in  an  abnormal  man- 
ner, and  almost  as  if  contraband.  Having  no  valve, 
they  made  their  way  out  through  fissures.  The  Sen- 
ate and  the  Corps  Legislatif  suffered  from  this  false 
situation.  Even  the  government  had  nothing  to  gain 
by  it.  Frequently  calumniated  at  home  and  abroad, 
it  could  not  authoritatively  defend  itself,  and  even 
when  it  raised  its  voice  within  the  legislative  pre- 
cincts it  was  scarcely  understood  in  the  country. 
We  think  this  situation  will  be  altered  for  the  bet- 


THE  DECREE  OF  NOVEMBER   U  255 

ter  by  the  new  arrangements  which  the  Emperor  has 
deemed  necessary  and  opportune." 

The  partisans  of  the  parliamentary  system  were 
not  mistaken.  They  comprehended  at  once  that  the 
decree  of  November  24  was  only  a  commencement,  a 
prelude  of  the  liberal  Empire.  At  first  glance,  the 
system  of  ministers  without  portfolio,  orator  minis- 
ters, —  and  ministers  with  portfolio,  acting  minis- 
ters,—  seemed  rather  odd,  and  people  wondered  how 
this  double  cabinet,  formed  behind  the  curtain  of 
ministers  who  managed  matters  without  explaining 
or  defending  them  in  legislative  deliberations,  and 
on  the  stage  of  ministers  who  did  nothing,  but  who 
came  there  to  expound  and  defend  the  acts  of  their 
colleagues,  could  work  freely.  Perspicacious  minds 
divined  that  the  system  was  only  a  transition.  A 
prudent  man,  M.  Eugene  Forcade,  who  edited  at 
the  time  the  Fortnightly  Chronicle  of  the  Revue 
des  Deux-Mondes,  wrote  December  1 :  "  For  our  part, 
we  should  not  be  surprised  if  this  system  necessarily 
resulted  in  ministerial  responsibility  and  the  forma- 
tion of  cabinets  under  the  lead  of  a  prime  minister. 
Our  conclusion  may  possibly  seem  paradoxical  ;  we 
think  it  may  be  justified  from  now  on.  The  exist- 
ing Constitution  has  not  yet  recognized  ministerial 
responsibility,  and  it  is  to  that  circumstance  we  owe, 
in  all  probability,  the  transitional  institution  of  act- 
ing ministers  and  speaking  ministers." 

At  bottom,  the  chronicler  of  the  Revue  des  Deux- 
Mondes  was  very  well  satisfied.     "This  is  still  very 


256  NAPOLEON  III 


little,"  said  he,  "  if  attention  is  paid  only  to  the  posi- 
tive stipulations  of  the  decree  ;  it  is  a  great  deal,  it 
may  be  everything,  if  one  considers  solely  the  direc- 
tion taken."  Chanting  victory,  he  recalled  with 
irony  "  the  time  when  certain  persons  who  thought 
themselves  clever  and  profound  made  themselves 
the  publicists  of  servitude  and  vaunted  their  cow- 
ardly school  of  political  literature.  .  .  .  The  par- 
liamentary regime  was  then  the  abomination  of 
desolation.  There  was  more  than  insolence,  there 
was  effrontery  in  mentioning  the  name  of  it ;  one 
might  have  supposed  it  a  sort  of  political  obscen- 
ity." Pitiless  toward  the  former  apologists  of  abso- 
lute power,  M.  Forcade  added  :  "  While  waiting  for 
these  prudes  of  yesterday  to  tune  up  their  instru- 
ments for  to-day's  concert,  —  which  will  not  take 
long,  —  we  may  be  permitted  to  draw  the  dividing 
line  between  us  and  them.  Let  us  force  them  to 
recognize  that  we  have  the  one  advantage  over  them 
to  which  they  should  be  the  most  sensitive  :  we 
have  estimated  the  force  of  circumstances  more  cor- 
rectly than  they,  and  appreciated  more  justly  the 
mind  and  character  of  the  Emperor." 

The  liberal  publicist  well  expressed  the  sentiment 
of  his  political  co-religionis^s  when  he  concluded 
thus  :  "  Changes  in  human  affairs  are  always  so 
rapid  and  sometimes  so  sudden  that  one  can  never 
say,  at  the  moment  when  their  aspect  is  the  most 
unfavorable,  that,  on  the  contrary,  the  most  decisive 
good  opportunity  has  not  just  arrived.     It  is  in  this 


THE  DECREE  OF  NOVEMBER  H  257 

sense  that  those  whom  ill  fortune  has  neither  wea- 
ried nor  corrupted,  have  a  right  to  claim  part  in  vic- 
tories which  circumstances  far  more  than  their  own 
efforts  unexpectedly  procure  for  their  cause." 

The  liberals  had  just  taken  a  first  step  ;  they  were 
determined  not  to  halt  on  the  way. 

In  the  imperialist  camp  satisfaction  was  far  from 
general.  Many  of  the  most  devoted  adherents  of 
the  Emperor  considered  the  Constitution  of  1852  as 
excellent,  and  were  altogether  unwilling  to  see  that 
parliamentarism  spring  up  again  which,  in  their 
view,  was  a  source  of  discords  and  revolutions. 
According  to  them,  it  was  not  to  the  interest  of  a 
strong  government  like  that  of  Napoleon  III.  to 
allow  itself  to  be  discussed,  and  the  control  which  it 
was  creating  would  soon  become  a  yoke.  These 
adepts  of  absolutism  said  one  should  not  disturb 
what  is  at  rest,  quieta  non  mover e,  and  that  the 
Emperor  was  his  own  enemy  in  wantonly  stirring  up 
difficulties  and  embarrassments  which  would  always 
go  on  increasing.  So  that  among  the  imperialists 
themselves  there  was  already  a  right  and  a  left.  As 
to  the  old  parties,  legitimists,  Orleanists,  republi- 
cans, they  were  all  determined  to  employ  against  the 
Empire  the  concessions  which  the  Empire  granted. 

To  sum  up,  the  believers  in  authority  thought  the 
decree  of  November  24  useless,  even  dangerous  ;  the 
liberals  considered  it  tardy  and  incomplete.  In  the 
sovereign's  own  mind,  it  was  an  honest  and  loyal 
experiment.       The    Emperor   wished   to    accustom 


258  NAPOLEON  III 


France  to  liberty  by  degrees,  in  order  to  see  whether 
it  would  be  able  to  make  a  fruitful  and  reasonable 
use  of  it.  The  experiment  would  determine  him 
either  to  limit  the  reforms  or  to  go  on  with  their 
development. 

Various  changes  in  ministerial  persons  and  func- 
tions coincided  with  the  decree  of  November  24. 
The  ministry  of  Algeria  was  suppressed  and  replaced 
by  a  general  government  with  its  seat  at  Algiers, 
which  was  intrusted  to  Marshal  Pelissier,  Due  de 
Malakoff.  The  ministry  of  the  Emperor's  house- 
hold was  separated  from  the  ministry  of  State,  and 
the  incumbent  of  it  became  the  Marshal  Comte 
Vaillant.  The  Comte  Walewski  was  appointed 
Minister  of  State  to  succeed  M.  Fould,  resigned,  and 
the  Beaux-Arts  were  attached  to  his  ministry.  The 
Marquis  de  Chasseloup-Laubat  became  Minister  of 
the  Navy  and  the  Colonies.  Finally,  the  Comte  de 
Persigny  and  M.  de  Forcade  La  Roquette  replaced 
each  other,  the  one  in  the  Interior,  the  other  in  the 
Finances,  and  MM.  Billault  and  Magne  were  ap- 
pointed ministers  without  portfolio. 

Five  days  after  the  decree  of  November  24,  pub- 
lic attention  was  suddenly  directed  to  the  extreme 
East.  The  Moniteur  of  the  29th  announced  the 
victories  of  Chang-Kia  and  Palikao,  and  that  of 
December  20  the  triumphant  entry  of  Pekin  by  the 
allies,  and  the  conclusion  of  peace. 


CHAPTER   XXXIX 

THE   FORTS    OF    TAKU 

pi  ENERAL  DE  MONTAUBAN  had  arrived  at 
^-^  Hong-Kong  early  in  March,  preceding  the 
Jamin  and  Collineau  brigades  which  formed  his 
army  corps.  The  English  troops  were  commanded 
by  General  Grant.  After  occupying  the  island  of 
Chinan  without  encountering  resistance,  the  allied 
generals  proceeded  to  the  Gulf  of  Pe-Chi-Li,  where 
they  arrived  July  6.  Leaving  Chi-Fu  the  26th,  the 
French  found  themselves  at  the  mouth  of  the  Peh- 
Tang  River  on  the  28th,  simultaneously  with  the 
English.  There  were  forts  there  which  it  was  nec- 
essary to  reduce  in  order  to  open  the  way  to  the 
Pei-Ho.  A  successful  attack  was  made  August  2. 
The  Chinese  retired  in  disorder,  and  after  taking 
the  city  of  Peh-Tang-Chu,  the  allies  resumed  their 
march  August  12.  On  the  15th  they  were  at  Sin- 
Ko,  where  the  Emperor's  fete-day  was  celebrated  in 
the  French  camp,  and  where  an  attack  was  planned 
on  the  four  very  solidly  built  forts  of  Taku,  which 
dominate  the  mouth  of  the  Pei-Ho.  The  21st  of 
August  was  chosen  by  the  chiefs  of  the  allied  armies 
for  an  attack  on  these  redoubtable  defences. 

An   enormous  fort   rises   on   either   bank  at   the 

259 


260  NAPOLEON  III 


mouth  of  the  river,  commanding  the  sea  and 
the  approaches  to  the  barricades.  Farther  up  the 
stream  is  a  second  one,  covering  the  first  with  its 
fires  and  protecting  the  river.  To  safeguard  the 
whole  system,  a  vast  intrenched  camp  extends  to 
the  extremity  of  the  lagoons  and  the  mainland. 
Here  it  was  that  in  1859  France  and  England  had 
sustained  the  defeat  it  was  now  their  intention  to 
avenge. 

The  plan  of  the  allies  was  to  seize  the  first  fort  on 
the  north,  some  six  hundred  yards  from  Tang-Ko  ; 
next  to  attack  the  second  one,  lower  down  the  left 
bank,  with  the  aid  of  gunboats  ;  this  bank  once 
entirely  occupied,  to  clear  the  stream  during  the 
night  of  adjacent  obstacles  so  that  the  boats  might 
pass  up  behind  the  forts  of  the  south,  and  from 
there  combine  their  action  with  that  of  the  troops 
sent  later  up  the  right  bank,  if  necessary. 

The  attack  will  not  be  an  easy  one.  Built  in 
European  fashion,  all  the  forts  are  furnished  with 
artillery  and  defended  by  very  numerous  troops. 
Glacis,  talus,  bastions,  curtains,  redans,  demilunes, 
nothing  is  lacking.  The  allies  intend  in  the  first 
place  to  attack  the  first  on  the  left  bank,  which  is 
the  nearest.  To  reach  it,  they  must  cross  an  abattis 
of  trees,  two  ditches  full  of  water,  three  yards  deep 
by  eight  wide,  and  two  formidable  enclosures  made 
of  bamboos,  close-set  and  sharpened.  After  passing 
these  obstacles,  they  will  set  up  the  ladders  they 
have  used  as  bridges,  against  the  parapet. 


THE  FORTS   OF  TAKU  261 

August  21,  5  a.m. — The  Collineau  brigade  de- 
bouches from  Tang-Ko,  approaches  the  left  bank  of 
the  river,  and  takes  position  at  the  right  of  the  Eng- 
lish corps.  The  Chinese  artillery  at  once  opens  fire. 
The  small  squadrons  commanded  by  Rear  Admirals 
Page  and  Jones  move  toward  the  left  bank,  tracing 
their  furrow  in  the  mud,  and  establish  themselves 
near  the  bridge  chosen  by  Vice  Admiral  Charner. 

At  six  o'clock  fighting  is  general  by  land  and  sea. 
At  seven,  an  immense  cloud  of  smoke,  shot  through 
with  flames  and  carrying  up  with  it  formless  black 
masses,  rises  with  a  frightful  detonation  above  the 
first  fort  on  the  left  bank.  "  There  goes  the  powder 
magazine,"  cries  General  de  Montauban.  "Go  tell 
Collineau  to  march  at  once."  The  field  pieces  take 
position  five  hundred  yards  from  the  fort. 

7.30  a.m.  —  The  assaulting  columns  under  Gen- 
eral Collineau  rush  forward.  The  ditches  are 
crossed,  the  palisades  hacked  down.  Ladders  are 
set  up,  and  in  spite  of  the  furious  resistance  of  the 
enemy  and  their  rain  of  stones  and  bullets,  some 
intrepid  men  succeed  in  scaling  the  wall.  The 
French  flag  is  planted  on  the  escarpment  by 
drummer  Fachard,  the  remainder  of  the  column 
climb  the  parapet  of  the  glacis,  leap  into  the 
enceinte  of  the  fort,  and  make  a  dash  with  their 
bayonets.  The  Chinese  still  resist  with  great  brav- 
ery. After  firing  their  last  shot,  they  catch  up 
stones  and  projectiles  of  every  description  and  throw 
them  at  their  assailants.     Then  they  fight  hand  to 


262  NAPOLEON  III 


hand  with  redoubled  energy  and  fury.  But  the  sup- 
porting companies  which  come  to  the  assistance  of  the 
assaulting  column,  and  the  arrival  of  some  English 
troops,  force  them  to  abandon  the  fort.  The  French 
have  had  about  two  hundred  men  killed  or  wounded; 
the  English  loss  is  about  the  same. 

2  p.m. — After  a  short  halt,  the  allies  move 
toward  the  second  fort  of  the  left  bank,  some  two 
kilometres  distant,  situated  on  the  seashore.  The 
sight  of  a  white  flag  floating  on  the  staff  rising 
from  the  bastion  of  this  second  fort  takes  them  by 
surprise.  Placing  their  ladders,  the  allies  climb  the 
walls,  expecting  some  trap.  An  unlooked-for  spec- 
tacle awaits  them  :  three  thousand  Tartars,  their 
weapons  laid  aside  and  in  the  attitude  of  suppliants, 
asking  mercy  in  the  interior  of  the  fort.  Not 
merely  are  their  lives  granted,  but  there  being  no 
means  of  keeping  or  of  feeding  them,  they  are  set  at 
liberty  and  allowed  to  disperse  in  the  fields. 

At  this  moment  a  storm  breaks  which  has  been 
threatening  all  the  morning.  The  marshy  soil  is 
soaked  in  an  instant.  The  cannon  sink  to  their 
axles  in  mud.  The  Comte  d'Herisson,  one  of  the 
combatants,  has  written  :  "If  this  rain  had  arrived 
a  few  hours  sooner,  our  brilliant  victory  might  have 
been  transformed  into  an  actual  defeat.  How  many 
times  in  history  has  a  mere  inclemency  of  the 
weather  made  game  of  all  strategic  combinations ! " 
General  de  Montauban  exclaims,  "  Decidedly,  we 
are  in  luck  !  " 


THE  FORTS  OF  TAKU  263 

The  two  forts  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Pei-Ho 
are  still  intact.  Several  heralds  with  a  flag  of  truce 
cross  the  river  on  a  junk  and  summon  the  leaders 
to  surrender.  After  some  hesitation  they  decide  to 
do  so,  and  hand  over  to  the  allies  all  the  works  and 
the  material.  At  dawn,  August  22,  the  whole 
course  of  the  Pei-Ho  is  open.  The  defeat  of  1859  is 
avenged. 

That  same  day,  the  English  admiral,  Hope,  with- 
out notifying  the  French,  and  hence  in  violation  of 
his  instructions,  takes  three  gunboats  and  goes  up 
stream  as  far  as  Tien-Tsin.  Annoyed,  Admiral 
Charner  follows  him  with  all  speed,  but  comes  in 
only  second.  Both  admirals  are  speedily  rejoined 
by  the  ambassadors  of  France  and  England,  Baron 
Gros  and  Lord  Elgin,  who  meet  the  imperial  com- 
missioner, Kwei-Liang,  to  negotiate  peace.  At 
first,  agreement  seems  easy.  Kwei-Liang  consents 
to  all  that  is  demanded.  The  ultimatum  of  March  8 
is  accepted.  It  is  agreed  that  the  treaty  of  1858 
shall  be  fully  carried  into  execution,  and  that  the 
ambassadors  of  France  and  England  shall  repair  to 
Pekin,  with  a  suitable  escort,  to  exchange  ratifica- 
tions. Hence  the  object  seems  to  be  attained,  but 
all  of  a  sudden  the  Chinese  commissioner  alleges 
that  he  has  not  the  necessary  powers,  and  refuses  to 
sign  the  preliminaries  of  peace.  The  negotiations 
were  nothing  but  a  trap.  The  Chinese  had  simply 
been  working  against  time. 

Meanwhile,  the  bad  weather  is  approaching,  and 


264  NAPOLEON  III 


in  the  neighborhood  of  Pekin  winter  is  scarcely  less 
severe  than  in  Siberia.  General  de  Montauban  rec- 
ognizes the  danger  the  allies,  who  are  but  a  handful, 
will  incur  in  the  midst  of  an  empire  of  four  hundred 
millions  of  inhabitants.  They  can  be  saved  only  by 
the  startling  rapidity  of  military  movements.  The 
least  weakness,  the  slightest  hesitation,  the  shortest 
delay,  would  ruyi  all. 

Baron  Gros  and  Lord  Elgin  refuse  to  be  deluded 
by  the  tricks  and  evasions  of  Kwei-Liang.  Septem- 
ber 7,  they  notify  him  that  the  allies  are  about  to 
move  toward  Tung-Chau,  a  city  four  leagues  from 
Pekin.  There  only,  they  add,  the  negotiations  may 
be  resumed  if  the  Chinese  government  sends  com- 
missioners duly  provided  with  the  needful  powers  to 
treat  definitively.  Kwei-Liang  tries  to  keep  the 
allies  at  Tien-Tsin  by  promising  that  within  three 
days  he  will  give  them  satisfaction.  His  request  is 
denied,  and  the  troops  march  in  the  direction  of 
Pekin. 

Baron  Gros  and  Lord  Elgin  have  barely  started 
when  despatch  after  despatch  reaches  them,  for- 
warded by  two  new  Chinese  commissioners,  Prince 
Tsai,  a  relative  of  the  Emperor,  and  Meh,  Minister 
of  War,  who  entreat  them  to  wait  their  coming  at 
Tien-Tsin  to  sign  the  peace  there.  On  their  refusal, 
the  Chinese  commissioners  ask  to  have  the  allied 
troops  halted  six  miles  from  Tung-Chau,  and  that 
French  and  English  delegates  may  be  sent  to  that 
city  to  confer  with  the  commissioners  and  prepare 


THE  FORTS   OF  TAKU  265 

the  treaty  of  peace  to  be  signed  afterward  by  the 
ambassadors  and  ratified  at  Pekin.  "  We  give  our 
adhesion,"  said  the  Chinese  plenipotentiaries,  "  to  all 
the  articles  of  the  convention.  We  extremely  desire 
that  after  so  many  evidences  of  good-will  our  wish 
to  conclude  peace  may  not  be  balked,  and  we  like 
to  believe  that  the  same  sentiment  animates  your 
Excellencies." 

Could  one  believe  that  such  protestations  were 
only  a  new  snare  ?  In  spite  of  the  suspicions  in- 
spired by  Chinese  duplicity,  the  ambassadors  thought 
themselves  entitled  to  hope  that  the  Chinese  would 
not,  within  a  few  days,  repeat  a  comedy  which  had 
not  succeeded,  since  the  allied  troops  were  now 
marching  toward  Pekin.  Therefore  it  was  agreed 
that  the  troops  should  halt  near  the  city  of  Chang- 
Kia,  eight  kilometres  from  Tung-Chau,  and  that  the 
English  and  French  delegates  should  repair  to  the 
latter  city  to  take  the  necessary  measures  before 
the  conclusion  of  peace.  All  seemed  to  be  arranged, 
when  the  ambush  of  the  18th  of  September  occurred. 


CHAPTER   XL 

THE   AMBUSH   OF    TUNG-CHAU 

V I  ^HE  French  delegates  who  started  from  the 
bivouac  of  Hosihou  for  Tung-Chau  at  five 
in  the  morning  of  September  17,  were  the  Comte 
Leon  de  Bastard,  secretary  of  embassy  to  Baron 
Gros,  and  M.  de  Meritens,  interpreter  of  the  em- 
bassy, each  followed  by  a  native  scholar,  domestic, 
and  groom. 

At  the  same  hour,  General  de  Montauban,  at  the 
head  of  the  expeditionary  column,  left  the  camp  of 
Hosi-Wu  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  himself 
that  evening  at  Matau,  four  or  five  leagues  from 
Tung-Chau,  a  large  city  of  four  hundred  thousand 
inhabitants. 

After  leaving  the  column  behind,  MM.  de  Bastard 
and  de  Meritens  met  on  the  road  Intendant  Dubut, 
Colonel  Grandchamp  of  the  artillery,  the  Abbe 
Duluc,  interpreter  of  the  commander-in-chief,  Cap- 
tain Chanoine  of  the  staff,  an  orderly,  and  two  army 
accountants,  who,  with  an  escort  of  eight  men,  were 
likewise  going  to  Tung-Chau,  with  instructions  con- 
cerning the  provisioning  and  encampment  of  the 
troops.     M.  d'Escayrac  de  Lauture,  charged  with  a 

266 


THE  AMBUSH  OF  TUNG-CHAU  267 

scientific  mission  in  China,  was  also  going  to  Tung- 
Chau,  followed  by  one  of  the  literati  and  a  secre- 
tary. 

A  short  distance  beyond  Chang-Kia,  a  village 
forty-eight  hundred  metres  from  Tung-Chau,  the 
French  delegates  observed  a  great  number  of  Tartar 
tents.  On  the  road,  as  well  as  in  the  fields,  they 
had  often  seen  groups  of  horsemen  going  in  different 
directions,  but  without  drawing  unpleasant  infer- 
ences from  the  fact.  At  Tung-Chau  they  found  the 
English  delegates,  Mr.  Norman  and  Mr.  Parkes,  the 
one  secretary  and  the  other  interpreter  of  the  em- 
bassy. They  were  accompanied  by  Colonel  Walker, 
chief  of  the  cavalry  staff,  Lieutenant  Anderson, 
Mr.  Loch,  Lord  Elgin's  private  secretary,  and  Mr. 
Bowlby,  correspondent  of  the  Times.  Nineteen 
Hindoo  horsemen  acted  as  their  escort. 

M.  Bastard  thus  describes  his  conference  with 
Prince  Tsai,  in  a  report  addressed  to  Baron  Gros  : 
"  According  to  your  instructions,  M.  le  Baron,  I  put 
a  precise  question  to  Prince  Tsai,  through  M.  de 
Meritens,  as  to  whether  he  were  furnished  with 
full  powers  ;  he  replied  in  the  affirmative,  though 
not  without  displaying  keen  annoyance  that  he  who 
said  he  had  never  told  a  lie,  whose  authority  was 
superior  to  that  of  all  the  plenipotentiaries,  and 
whose  signature  carried  as  much  weight  as  that  of 
the  Emperor,  should  have  been  subjected  to  such 
a  question."  He  afterward  examined  the  draught 
of  the  convention  prepared  at  Tien-Tsin,  the  Chinese 


268  NAPOLEON  III 


text  of  which  I  left  in  his  hands.  Such  objections 
as  he  made  were  purely  for  the  sake  of  form,  and  he 
promised  to  have  all  needful  preparations  made  to 
facilitate  your  Excellency's  journey  to  Tung-Chau 
and  Pekin,  and  also  for  the  establishment  of  the 
necessary  measures  for  provisioning  the  army,  which 
was  to  camp  the  very  next  morning,  a  hundred  yards 
beyond  Chang-Kia,  as  had  been  agreed." 

At  daybreak,  September  18,  MM.  de  Bastard  and 
de  Meritens,  believing  that  their  mission  had  been 
successfully  accomplished,  and  with  them  Captain 
Chanoine,  quitted  Tung-Chau,  leaving  in  that  city 
Intendant  Dubut,  M.  d'Escayrac  de  Lauture,  Colo- 
nel Grandchamp,  MM.  Ader  and  Gagey,  army  ac- 
countants, and  their  orderlies.  On  the  road  they 
learned  that  the  Tartars  were  occupying  in  force 
the  ground  intended  for  the  encampment  of  the 
French  expeditionary  corps,  and  they  were  lucky 
in  crossing  their  lines  undisturbed,  and  getting  back 
safely  to  General  de  Montauban. 

There  was  no  further  room  for  doubt.  What  had 
just  taken  place  at  Tung-Chau  on  the  part  of  the 
Chinese  was  a  mere  farce  preceding  a  horrible  trag- 
edy. The  thirty  or  forty  thousand  Tartars  assem- 
bled at  Chang-Kia  were  there  simply  for  the  sake  of 
enticing  the  allied  troops  into  an  ambush,  and  crush- 
ing them  under  the  weight  of  numbers.  The  two 
commanders  did  not  hesitate  for  a  moment.  The 
18th,  at  the  very  instant  when  they  ascertained  the 
perfidy  of  the  Chinese,  they  took  the  offensive  by 


THE  AMBUSH  OF  TUNG-CIIAU  269 

marching  toward  Chang- Kia  to  meet  the  Tartar 
army.     This  audacious  move  succeeded. 

Two  villages  lay  between  the  allies  and  the  front 
ranks  of  the  Tartar  army.  They  were  raided  at  the 
double  quick  by  Colonel  Poujot  with  the  men  of 
the  101st  and  102d  of  the  line  and  a  company  of 
engineers.  The  artillery  followed  the  movement 
closely,  and  after  passing  the  villages,  was  estab- 
lished by  order  of  Colonel  Schmitz,  chief  of  staff, 
on  a  little  eminence,  from  which  it  began  to  rake  the 
enemy. 

At  the  same  moment  General  de  Montauban,  who 
was  directing  the  ensemble  of  the  operations,  turned 
to  the  English  Colonel  Foley,  attached  to  his  staff, 
and  said  :  "  Colonel,  I  put  you  in  command  of  that 
squadron  of  Sikhs  yonder.  Charge  at  the  head  of 
your  men."  And  he  added,  addressing  his  escort  of 
spahis :  "  Go  with  the  Colonel,  gentlemen.  For- 
ward !  ':  The  charge,  during  which  Lieutenant  de 
Damas  was  fatally  wounded,  buried  itself  like  a 
wedge  in  the  mass  of  Chinese.  The  artillery  took 
on  the  slant  the  sixty  bronze  cannon  which  the  en- 
emy had  placed  in  battery  on  the  dike  of  the  impe- 
rial canal.  General  de  Montauban  moved  to  rejoin 
the  English  in  square,  while  the  Tartars,  disconcerted 
and  demoralized,  were  fleeing  in  the  direction  of 
Pekin.  It  was  two  o'clock.  The  allies  had  been 
on  the  march  or  in  action  since  five  in  the  morning, 
each  man  carrying  six  days'  provisions  in  his  knap- 
sack, under  a  burning  hot  sun. 


270  NAPOLEON   III 


The  Comte  d'Herisson,  who  took  part  in  the 
charge  of  the  Sikhs  and  spahis,  had  good  reason 
to  say,  "  Probably  no  army  placed  under  such  con- 
ditions of  numerical  inferiority  and  physical  fatigue 
ever  displayed  so  much  calmness  or  gave  more  con- 
vincing proof  of  those  two  primary  qualities  of 
the  soldier,  obedience  and  courage."  The  prestige 
of  the  generalissimo,  Sang-Ko-Lin-Sin,  famous  for 
his  victories  over  the  rebels,  was  destroyed.  The 
"  tigers,"  soldiers  of  the  guard  in  black-striped  uni- 
forms, strewed  the  scene  of  action  with  their  dead 
bodies.  The  allied  troops,  whose  losses  were  as  few 
as  those  of  the  Tartar  army  were  considerable,  had 
thoroughly  beaten  an  enemy  ten  times  their  num- 
ber. 

It  was  supposed  at  first  that  the  Chinese  negoti- 
ators were  in  ignorance  of  the  ambush,  and  that  the 
initiative  of  it  was  to  be  attributed  to  Sang-Ko-Lin- 
Sin,  who  was  reputed  the  head  of  the  war  party. 
But  an  imperial  edict  published  September  20, 
showed  that  the  Chinese  government  was  far  from 
disapproving  the  recent  act  of  treason.  According 
to  this  curious  document,  "  The  revolted  barbarians* 
in  order  to  satisfy  their  pride,  have  come  to  threaten 
Tung-Chau  with  an  army,  expressing  also  the  wish 
to  bring  their  troops  to  the  capital,  and  to  see  us 
there.  If  so  foolish  a  claim  had  been  conceded,  how 
could  we  have  dared  to  present  ourself  before  our 
peoples  ?  Therefore  we  have  been  obliged  to  give 
the  strictest  orders  to  the  various  commanders  of 


THE  AMBUSH  OF  TUNG-CHAU  271 

troops  to  bring  horsemen  and  foot-soldiers  from 
every  quarter,  and  to  fight  with  fury." 

The  imperial  proclamation  ended  as  follows  : 
"However,  if  the  barbarians  come  to  repent  and  to 
recognize  their  crime,  they  must  be  allowed  to  enjoy 
in  the  different  ports  the  freedom  of  commerce  which 
had  been  previously  conceded  to  them,  so  as  to  thor- 
oughly establish  in  this  way  that  we  are  a  generous 
and  benevolent  emperor.  If,  on  the  contrary,  they 
persevere  in  their  revolt,  let  my  people  make  every 
effort  to  annihilate  them  all,  and  we  hereby  swear 
that  this  abominable  race,  if  it  will  not  admit  its 
crimes,  shall  be  wholly  exterminated.  Let  this 
edict  be  made  known  to  all  and  be  respected  by 
all  !  " 

The  Chinese  government  persisted  in  its  perfidy. 
We  have  seen  that  on  September  17  a  certain 
number  of  Frenchmen  and  Englishmen  went  to 
Tung-Chau,  and  that  on  the  18th  only  some  of 
them  returned.  The  others  —  thirty-five  probably 
—  were  held  as  prisoners.  Among  these  were  Colo- 
nel de  Grandchamp,  the  Abbe  Duluc,  Mr.  Loch, 
Mr.  Parkes,  and  the  correspondent  of  the  Times, 
Mr.  Bowlby.  For  a  brief  period  the  allies  hoped 
that  the  Chinese,  frightened  by  their  defeat  at 
Chang-Kia,  would  consent  to  return  the  captives. 
September  19  Mr.  Wade,  second  interpreter  of  the 
English  embassy,  was  given  the  dangerous  mis- 
sion of  going  to  Tung-Chau  with  a  flag  of  truce 
to   ask  for  their  surrender.       The   mandarins  pre- 


272  NAPOLEON  III 


tended  not  to  understand  what  was  wanted.  "  The 
Europeans,"  said  they,  "  left  Tung-Chau  some 
time  before  the  battle,  and  we  do  not  know  what 
has  become  of  them."  This  lie  did  not  deceive  the 
allies,  who  felt  the  greatest  uneasiness,  unfortu- 
nately too  well  founded,  concerning  the  fate  of  the 
unhappy  victims  of  the  treachery.  After  the  vic- 
tory of  Chang-Kia  they  had  not  entered  the  city, 
but  left  it  half  a  league  behind  on  their  right. 
The  commanding  generals  concluded  to  continue 
the  march  on  Pekin  and  to  attack  Palikao,  the 
Tartar  camp  under  Sang-Ko-Lin-Sin. 


CHAPTER   XLI 

THE    BATTLE    OF   PALIKAO 

A  T  a  distance  of  five  kilometres  beyond  the  biv- 
■*■-*-  ouacs  the  allies  had  occupied  at  Chang-Kia  is 
the  city  of  Tung-Chau,  connected  with  Pekin  by  a 
road  twelve  kilometres  in  length,  built  by  former 
dynasties.  At  the  village  of  Palikao  this  road 
crosses  the  canal  which  unites  Pei-Ho  to  the  capital 
by  means  of  a  solid  stone  bridge  with  large  arches. 
Beyond  and  behind  this  bridge,  on  ground  long 
studied  and  made  ready  in  advance,  the  Chinese 
generalissimo  had  disposed  his  troops,  amounting 
apparently  to  between  fifty  and  sixty  thousand  men. 

The  French  had  at  their  disposal  five  thousand 
bayonets,  some  escorting  cavalry,  and  a  very  little 
artillery.  The  English  had  about  the  same  number 
of  effective  men,  rather  fewer  foot-soldiers,  but  more 
cavalry.  Such  was  the  little  phalanx  which,  but  for 
the  superiority  of  its  armament  and  the  perfection 
of  its  fire,  could  not  have  maintained  a  struggle  so 
unequal  in  point  of  numbers. 

September    21,  at  half-past  five  in  the  morning, 

the  allied  troops  left  their  bivouacs  at  Chang-Kia, 

and  marched  in  the  direction  of  Palikao  to  attack 

the  Tartar  army.     A  small  column  under  command 

t  273 


274  NAPOLEON  III 


of  General  Collineau  took  the  lead.  General  Jamin 
followed  the  movement.  General  de  Montauban  and 
his  staff  marched  at  the  French  right.  Next  came 
the  English. 

The  plan  of  the  battle  was  this :  The  French  were 
to  attack  the  Palikao  bridge,  while  the  English, 
spreading  out  to  the  left,  should  try  to  find  their 
way  to  a  wooden  bridge  three  kilometres  above  the 
stone  one,  cross  it,  turn  back,  and  take  the  enemy 
in  the  rear. 

Fighting  began  at  seven  in  the  morning.  When 
they  got  within  four  kilometres  of  the  stone  bridge, 
the  French  saw  the  enormous  mass  of  Tartar  cav- 
alry, forming  an  immense  curve,  coming  toward 
them  at  a  jog-trot.  Not  a  word  of  command  was 
heard  in  its  ranks.  Tartar  evolutions  are  indicated 
by  flags  which  are  lowered,  like  marine  signals. 
The  advance  squadrons  come  up  at  a  trot  to  within 
fifty  yards  of  the  French  tirailleurs,  who  rout  the 
first  rank  of  cavalry.  If  a  single  battalion  were 
broken  through,  the  allied  army  would  at  once  be 
surrounded  on  all  sides.  But  the  Chinese  general- 
issimo makes  his  cavalry  charge  in  a  body,  and  un- 
successfully. In  the  centre,  the  charge,  several 
times  renewed  with  savage  yells,  is  repelled  by  the 
rocket-gunners,  a  battery  of  the  12th,  and  the  light 
infantry.  On  the  left,  it  is  broken  by  General  Col- 
lineau's  little  command,  and  driven  back  by  the 
English  cavalry,  which  has  just  entered  the  field  of 
battle.     On  the  right,  it  is  repelled  by  the  101st  of 


THE  BATTLE  OF  PALIKAO  275 


the  line,  skilfully  drawn  up  and  handled  with  cool- 
ness by  its  commander,  Colonel  Pouget.  Taken  on 
the  oblique  by  the  artillery  of  Colonel  de  Bentz- 
mann,  the  Tartar  cavalry  commences  to  retreat. 

Seeing  that  his  troops  had  come  out  victorious 
from  the  circle  which  threatened  them,  and  having 
no  more  fears  for  the  position  of  his  left,  now  that 
the  English  army  had  arrived,  General  de  Montau- 
ban  sent  for  General  Collineau's  little  corps  and 
ordered  it  to  outflank  the  village  of  Palikao  by  a 
wheel  to  the  right,  gaining  the  bank  of  the  canal, 
while  General  Jamin  was  attacking  the  village  in 
front.  It  was  taken  in  spite  of  the  sharp  resistance 
of  the  Chinese  infantry,  which  defended  it  inch  by 
inch,  but  in  vain,  on  account  of  the  inferiority  of 
their  equipment. 

The  taking  of  the  village  did  not  end  the  fight. 
The  next  thing  was  to  seize  the  Palikao  bridge,  the 
principal  object  of  the  battle.  While  General  Colli- 
neau,  arriving  on  the  bank,  takes  the  bridge  on  the 
oblique  with  his  artillery,  the  commander-in-chief 
orders  Colonel  de  Bentzmann  to  send  forward  the 
rocket-gunners  and  the  12th  battery  to  sweep  it 
with  a  raking  fire,  and  aim  at  the  gunners  serving 
the  ten  cannon  by  which  it  was  defended.  Fortu- 
nately for  the  French,  the  Chinese  had  very  defective 
artillery,  and  their  balls  went  over  the  heads  of  the 
assailants. 

The  conduct  of  the  Chinese  leaders  was  none  the 
less  worthy  of  great  praise.     On  the  causeway  of 


276  NAPOLEON  III 


the  bridge,  their  gorgeous  costumes  making  them 
splendid  targets  for  death,  they  wave  their  stand- 
ards and  reply  in  the  open  by  an  ineffective  fire  to 
that  of  the  French  musketry  and  cannon.  It  is  the 
elite  of  the  army  which  immolates  itself  to  protect  a 
precipitate  retreat.  The  gunners  serving  the  ten 
cannon  let  themselves  be  killed  at  their  post  by  the 
infantry  of  the  2d  battalion.  The  fight  is  won. 
General  Collineau  crosses  the  bridge  and  enters  the 
road  to  Pekin  on  the  right,  in  the  direction  taken 
by  the  fugitives.  The  commander-in-chief  follows 
with  the  remainder  of  his  troops.  It  is  noonday. 
Fighting  has  been  going  on  for  five  consecutive 
hours. 

Justly  proud  of  his  subordinates,  especially  of  his 
son,  a  future  general,  decorated  on  the  battle-field  in 
the  Crimea  six  years  before,  who  had  now  been  fight- 
ing bravely,  the  victor  was  radiant  with  joy.  Let 
us  again  quote  M.  d'Herisson,  whose  Journal  d'un 
Interpret*  en  Chine  is  so  vivid  a  description  of  this 
almost  incredible  expedition :  "  Montauban,  sur- 
rounded by  all  his  officers  and  greeted  by  the  accla- 
mations of  his  soldiers,  passed  in  front  of  the  lines, 
wiping  his  forehead.  His  soldierly  and  severe  coun- 
tenance was  lighted  by  an  honest  smile  of  satisfac- 
tion. Was  he  fancying  that  under  the  glowing  sun 
of  victory  he  saw  Renown  coming  through  the  air  to 
bring  him  military  honors,  the  medal  of  the  soldier 
and  commander-in-chief,  the  grand  cross  of  the 
Legion  of  Honor,  a  seat  in  the  Senate,  and  that  title 


TTIE  BATTLE  OF  PALIKAO  211 

of  Chinese  count  which  resembled  the  surnames 
given  by  the  Romans  to  their  victorious  generals? 
I  cannot  say.  But  certainly  he  did  not  forebode, 
nor  did  any  of  us  forebode,  all  the  calumnies,  the 
mean  and  contemptible  jealousies  by  which  he  would 
be  assailed  on  his  return  home,  and  that  incredible 
ingratitude  of  a  parliament  which  did  not  even  recall 
his  victories  until  the  country  was  beyond  saving." 

The  results  of  the  battle  of  Palikao  bordered  on 
the  miraculous.  While  the  enemy  had  more  than 
twelve  hundred  men  disabled,  the  French  had  but 
three  killed  and  eighteen  wounded,  and  the  English 
two  killed  and  twenty-nine  wounded.  A  large  num- 
ber of  cannon,  a  stack  of  bows,  arrows,  quivers,  thou- 
sands of  matchlocks,  a  lot  of  banners,  among  others 
the  grand  imperial  banner  of  Sang-Ko-Lin-Sin,  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  victors.  That  night  they  slept 
under  the  abandoned  tents  of  the  vanquished,  twelve 
kilometres  from  Pekin. 

Wonder  has  been  expressed  because  the  allied 
armies  did  not  profit  by  their  success  to  advance  at 
once  to  the  ramparts  of  the  capital.  The  reason  is 
that  the  hasty  marches  of  the  last  few  days  and  the 
two  battles  of  Chang-Kia  and  Palikao  had  nearly 
exhausted  their  food  and  ammunition.  The  French 
infantry  had  no  cartridges  left,  and  the  artillery 
only  cannon-shot  enough  for  forty-seven  discharges 
a-piece.  The  provisions  were  nearly  gone.  The 
English  were  in  a  similar  condition.  The  command- 
ing generals  deemed  it  imprudent  to  present  them- 


278  NAPOLEON  III 


selves  yet  before  a  city  of  two  million  inhabitants. 
They  decided  to  summon  all  their  forces  and  to  remain 
in  their  encampment  at  Palikao  until  they  had  received 
all  that  Tien-Tsin  could  furnish  in  men,  munitions, 
and  provisions.  The  halt  was  to  last  from  Septem- 
ber 22  until  October  5. 

Baron  Gros  and  Lord  Elgin  each  received  a  Chi- 
nese despatch  September  24.  It  was  from  Prince 
Kung,  younger  brother  of  the  Emperor.  The  prince 
announced  that  Tsa'i  and  Meh  had  been  dismissed 
for  mismanagement  of  affairs,  and  that  he,  a  prince 
of  the  blood,  had  been  appointed  imperial  commis- 
sioner with  the  amplest  powers  to  treat  and  conclude 
a  peace.  Hence  he  asked  the  two  ambassadors  to 
put  an  end  to  hostilities,  but  mentioned  neither  the 
events  of  the  day  nor  the  prisoners  of  Tung-Chau, 
who  had  just  been  transferred  to  Pekin.  Baron 
Gros  and  Lord  Elgin  replied  that  before  suspending 
hostilities  or  entering  into  a  parley,  the  prisoners 
must  be  returned  to  their  respective  camps.  Prince 
Kung  having  declined  to  deliver  them  except  as  a 
consequence  of  the  conclusion  of  peace,  the  two 
ambassadors  put  matters  into  the  hands  of  the  com- 
manding generals,  who  decided  that  the  allied  troops 
should  resume  their  forward  march  on  October  5. 


CHAPTER   XLII 

THE   SUMMER   PALACE 

n^HE  allied  armies  have  completed  their  forces 
-*-  while  in  camp  at  Palikao.  The  102d  of  the 
line,  a  company  of  engineers,  a  battery,  and  270  men 
of  the  marine  infantry  have  rejoined  the  French 
army,  which  now  numbers  4000  men,  with  three 
batteries.  The  English  army  amounts  to  about  the 
same.  General  de  Montauban  leaves  a  company  at 
Chang-Kia,  two  others  at  Palikao  and  Tung-Chan, 
and  takes  with  him  a  light  ambulance  column  and 
five  days'  provisions. 

The  two  armies  leave  Palikao  October  5,  and 
begin  their  march  toward  Pekin.  That  evening 
they  establish  themselves  five  kilometres  from  the 
capital,  in  a  village  whose  houses  are  grouped  around 
a  dozen  immense  brick-kilns.  From  the  top  of  one 
of  these  the  roofs  of  Pekin  are  visible  on  the  horizon. 
Marching  is  renewed  October  6.  The  two  armies 
separate,  and  are  soon  out  of  each  other's  sight. 

During  the  day,  the  French  learn  that  the  Tartar 
army  withdrew  in  the  direction  of  Yuen-Ming- Yuen, 
the  Summer  Palace,  a  magnificent  imperial  residence 
some  kilometres  to  the  northwest  of  the  capital. 
They  conclude  to  pursue  it.     At  seven  in  the  even- 

279 


280  NAPOLEON  III 


ing  they  pass  through  the  village  of  Hai-Tien,  whose 
amazed  inhabitants  hastily  shut  up  their  houses. 
They  cross  a  magnificent  bridge  thrown  over  a  canal, 
and  advance  by  a  road  paved  with  granite  to  an 
esplanade  planted  with  large  trees  set  in  squares, 
like  a  chess-board,  and  bearing  some  resemblance  to 
the  place  of  arms  at  Versailles.  At  the  farther  end 
of  this  esplanade  appears  the  Summer  Palace.  The 
entrance  to  it  is  closed  by  a  very  solid  door  in  the 
middle,  and  by  gates  to  right  and  left. 

Possibly  the  Tartar  troops  are  massed  in  the 
court  and  gardens.  The  commander-in-chief  sends 
Lieutenant  de  Pina,  of  the  navy,  with  a  company  of 
marine  infantry  to  reconnoitre  the  position.  On 
arriving  at  the  great  door,  M.  de  Pina  summons  the 
warders  to  open  it.  On  their  refusal,  he  sends  for  a 
ladder  and  climbs  the  wall,  followed  by  M.  Vivenot, 
second  lieutenant.  Several  Tartars  fire  on  the  auda- 
cious officers,  both  of  whom  are  wounded.  But  their 
men  come  to  their  assistance,  and  the  Tartars  take 
flight.  The  door  is  opened.  General  Collineau 
occupies  the  first  court  of  the  palace  with  a  part  of 
his  brigade,  and  remains  in  that  situation  until  the 
next  day.  It  would  be  dangerous  to  attempt  to 
enter  the  immense  buildings  of  the  palace  in  the 
darkness. 

The  Summer  Palace,  favorite  dwelling  place  of 
the  Emperor  Hien-Fung,  who  prefers  it  to  his  resi- 
dence in  Pekin,  where  he  never  goes  except  to  pre- 
side at  the  annual  ceremonies,  suspasses  in  splendor 


THE  SUMMER   PALACE  281 

and  gorgeous  oddity  all  that  an  Oriental  imagination 
could  devise.  The  barricaded  gates  are  cleared 
during  the  night  and  opened  the  next  morning. 
September  7,  General  de  Montauban,  accompanied 
by  Generals  Jamin  and  Collineau  and  Colonel 
Schmitz,  enters  the  marvellous  residence,  abandoned 
by  the  Chinese  sovereign  since  yesterday.  "  It  is 
impossible,"  said  the  commander-in-chief  in  his 
report,  "  to  describe  the  magnificence  of  the  numer- 
ous constructions  which  succeed  each  other  over  an 
extent  of  four  leagues,  and  which  are  called  the 
Summer  Palace  ;  a  succession  of  pagodas  containing 
all  the  gods  in  gold,  silver,  or  bronze,  of  gigantic 
dimensions.  For  instance,  a  single  bronze  divinity, 
a  Buddha,  is  about  seventy  feet  high,  and  all  the 
rest  is  in  proportion,  —  gardens,  lakes,  and  curiosities 
amassed  for  centuries  in  buildings  of  white  marble, 
covered  with  dazzling  tiles,  —  to  which  may  be  added 
views  of  an  admirable  extent  of  country." 

What  an  enchanting  scene  !  What  a  mass  of 
riches  !  What  an  accumulation  of  wonders  !  Sepa- 
rated by  lakes,  bridges,  artificial  eminences,  the 
innumerable  pleasure  houses,  whose  grouping  con- 
stitutes what  is  known  as  the  Summer  Palace,  seem 
to  be  scattered  broadcast  in  an  immense  park  de- 
signed in  rectangle  and  surrounded  by  walls.  The 
buildings  occupied  by  the  Emperor  are  superb. 
Nothing  could  be  more  majestic  than  the  throne 
room.  It  is  fifty  yards  long  by  twenty  wide  and 
fifteen   high.     In   the   oratory,   the   walls,  ceilings, 


282  NAPOLEON  III 


tables,  seats,  pedestals,  are  all  of  gold  enriched  with 
precious  stones.  In  the  State  apartments,  as  in  the 
smallest  rooms,  there  is  a  prodigious  accumulation 
of  objects  of  art  and  precious  things ;  candelabras, 
crystals,  porcelains,  censers,  fabulous  divinities,  ob- 
jects in  Oriental  jade,  in  gold,  silver,  lacquer,  ranged 
on  shelves  as  they  are  in  European  museums.  Near 
the  buildings  occupied  by  the  Emperor  are  maga- 
zines filled  with  silks,  furs,  provisions,  everything 
required  for  the  support  of  his  military  household, 
which  was  composed  of  not  less  than  ten  thousand 
persons.  The  Jesuits  who  came  to  China  in  the 
seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries,  and  were  then 
in  great  favor  with  the  court  of  Pekin,  doubtless 
gave  advice  as  to  the  construction  of  this  Versailles 
of  the  Farthest  East,  this  Versailles  far  more  spa- 
cious than  that  of  Louis  XIV. 

The  park,  whose  very  lofty  walls  are  not  less  than 
fourteen  kilometres  in  circumference,  is  not  less 
extraordinary  than  the  palace.  Here  are  deep 
grottos,  filled  with  statues  of  gods  and  beasts. 
Yonder  is  the  great  lake  with  the  wharf  for  the 
imperial  barks,  and  the  sovereign's  fishing-boat. 
Here,  too,  is  an  exact  miniature  copy  of  the  tower 
of  Nankin,  with  its  innumerable  stories.  Every- 
where pavilions  and  pagodas,  streams  and  islands, 
thickets  and  labyrinths,  observatories  and  kiosques. 
One  goes  from  surprise  to  surprise,  from  one  daz- 
zling splendor  to  another. 

As  he  passes  through  on  his  tour  of  inspection, 


THE  SUMMER   PALACE  283 

General  de  Montauban  places  sentinels  and  confides 
to  two  officers,  MM.  de  Brives  and  Schoelcher,  artil- 
lery captains,  the  care  of  keeping  everything  intact 
until  the  arrival  of  the  English,  no  news  of  whom 
has  yet  been  obtained,  although  for  the  last  hour  a 
cannon  has  been  discharged  every  five  minutes  on  the 
esplanade  opposite  the  palace,  in  order  to  apprise 
them  of  the  whereabouts  of  the  French  army.  The 
two  captains  perform  their  tasks  scrupulously.  Not 
a  thing  is  stolen  while  their  surveillance  lasts.  Un- 
fortunately, this  was  not  the  case  afterward. 

At  half-past  eleven  the  English  army  at  last  ar- 
rives. Sir  Hope  Grant  and  Lord  Elgin  enter  the 
Summer  Palace.  Commissioners  are  at  once  ap- 
pointed to  relieve  the  two  captains  and  collect  the 
most  precious  objects,  an  equal  share  of  which  is 
to  be  given  to  each  army.  The  division  is  made 
between  the  allied  chiefs  that  very  evening  in  the 
throne  room.  General  de  Montauban  has  a  selection 
of  the  most  remarkable  objects  set  aside  to  be  offered 
to  Napoleon  III.,  the  Empress  Eugenie,  and  the 
Prince  Imperial.  (They  are  those  afterward  exhib- 
ited in  the  palace  of  Fontainebleau,  in  a  room 
called,  on  that  account,  the  Chinese  Museum.)  A 
similar  collection  is  destined  for  the  Queen  of  Eng- 
land. 

A  renewed  search  on  the  following  day,  October  8, 
leads  to  the  discovery  of  quantities  of  gold  and  sil- 
ver bullion,  which  is  distributed  as  prize  money  in 
a  regular  manner,  proportionately  to  the  different 


284  NAPOLEON  III 


ranks.  Private  soldiers  and  sailors  get  about  180 
francs  apiece. 

Until  now  all  rules  of  discipline  have  been  strictly 
maintained.  Things  will  not  continue  so  through- 
out the  day.  It  is  suddenly  learned  that  the  Chinese 
of  the  neighborhood  have  entered  the  park,  then 
that  they  have  set  up  ladders  against  the  palace 
walls  and  begun  to  plunder.  Word  comes  at  the 
same  time  that  attempts  are  being  made  to  burn 
portions  of  it.  A  first  sound  of  the  bugle  calls  the 
men  to  duty.  A  company  in  arms  is  summoned 
to  punish  the  Chinese  thieves.  A  second  call  is 
sounded.  Unarmed  soldiers  with  canteens  and 
buckets  are  required  to  form  a  chain  and  prevent 
the  ravages  of  fire. 

Then  ensues  a  violent,  irresistible  thrusting  and 
pushing  at  the  guarded  gates.  The  sentinels  are 
shoved  aside.  Everybody  enters  along  with  the 
armed  company  and  the  laborers  demanded.  Each 
takes  whatever  he  can  lay  his  hands  on.  "  With  all 
his  energy,"  writes  M.  d'Herisson,  "  Montauban 
could  no  more  prevent  his  troops  from  passing 
through  the  great  gate  of  the  Summer  Palace  than 
Napoleon,  for  all  his  prestige  as  a  demi-god,  could 
have  held  his  armies  at  the  moment  of  the  sauve-qui- 
peut  of  Waterloo.  .  .  .  There  were  troopers  with 
their  heads  buried  in  the  red  lacquer  coffers  of  the 
Empress,  others  half  hidden  by  piles  of  brocades  and 
silks,  still  others  filling  their  pockets,  their  shirts, 
their   caps,  with    rubies,  sapphires,  pieces   of   rock 


THE  SUMMER   PALACE  285 

crystal,  and  thrusting  great  pearls  into  their  breasts. 
...  It  was  like  a  hasheesh-eater's  dream."  The 
English  stole  as  the  French  did,  but  more  methodi- 
cally. 

The  allies  quitted  the  Summer  Palace  October  9, 
and  turned  toward  Pekin.  During  the  day  some 
of  the  victims  of  the  treachery  of  Tung-Chau  re- 
turned, the  Chinese  government,  after  treating  them 
most  horribly,  having  at  last  concluded  to  release 
them.  These  were  Mr.  Parkes,  Mr.  Loch,  M.  d'Es- 
cayrac  de  Lauture,  one  English  and  four  French  sol- 
diers. Colonel  de  Grandchamps,  Intendant  Dubut, 
accounting-officer  Ader,  three  French  soldiers,  Mr. 
Norman,  Lieutenant  Anderson,  Mr.  Bowlby,  and 
thirteen  soldiers  had  died  under  torture.  The 
Chinese  government  sent  them  back  in  coffins. 
Three  prisoners  —  the  Abbe  Duluc,  the  English  cap- 
tain, Brabazon,  and  a  soldier,  his  compatriot  —  were 
not  returned  either  dead  or  alive. 

When  they  learned  the  details  of  the  abominable 
cruelties  committed  by  the  Chinese,  the  allied  armies 
felt  deep  indignation.  It  was  no  longer  permissible 
to  deceive  them,  and  it  was  at  Pekin  itself  that  the 
victors  were  to  dictate  terms  to  the  vanquished. 

A  proclamation  in  the  Chinese  tongue  was  ad- 
dressed, October  18,  by  General  de  Montauban  to 
the  inhabitants  of  the  capital  and  the  surrounding 
country.  In  it  was  said  :  "  The  French  and  Eng- 
lish troops  are  to-day  before  Pekin.  Their  flag  is 
floating  on  the  walls ;  the  city  is  in  their  power,  and 


286  NAPOLEON  JTT 


it  is  through  good- will  toward  the  inoffensive  inhab- 
itants it  contains  that  the  allies  have  been  unwilling 
to  occupy  the  interior."  After  having  stigmatized 
"the  act  of  perfidy  and  cruelty  committed  against 
the  prisoners  with  a  barbarity  unparalleled  in  his- 
tory," the  commander-in-chief  added  :  "New  condi- 
tions of  peace  are  offered  to  Prince  Kung  by  the 
ambassadors  of  France  and  England.  If  the  impe- 
rial government  rejects  these  propositions,  or  if  it 
leaves  them  unansAvered,  the  commander-in-chief 
will  not  be  responsible  for  the  misfortunes  which 
the  Chinese  authorities  will  have  brought  upon  the 
city.  This  proclamation  is  addressed  to  the  inhab- 
itants of  Pekin  and  the  surrounding  country  out  of 
good-will  toward  them.  Done  at  the  French  head- 
quarters, on  the  ramparts  of  the  city,  at  the  Ngan- 
king  gate,  October  18,  1860." 

That  same  da}-,  the  English,  more  vindictive  and 
implacable  than  the  French,  thought  it  necessary  to 
strike  a  great  blow  by  a  terrible  example.  Lord 
Elgin  had  all  that  remained  of  the  Summer  Palace 
razed  to  the  ground  and  burned.  Baron  Gros  and 
General  de  Montauban  sought  in  vain  to  make  him 
comprehend  that  this  would  be  a  deed  without  profit 
and  without  glory,  which  might  put  an  end  to  the 
negotiations  by  deciding  Prince  Kung  to  take  to 
flight.  The  ambassador  was  inflexible.  He  sent 
an  English  division  which  went  methodically  at  the 
business  of  incendiarism.  The  palace,  the  pagodas, 
museums,  magnificent  libraries,  were  given  to  the 
flames.     Nothing  was  left  but  cinders. 


CHAPTER   XLIII 

THE   TREATY    OF   PEKIN 

r|  ^HE  denouement  was  approaching.  Winter  would 
soon  cover  with  snow  and  ice  the  roads,  the 
canals,  and  the  Pei-Ho.  Lord  Elgin  in  vain  ex- 
pressed his  wish  to  winter  the  allied  troops  in  Pekin. 
General  de  Montauban  told  him  that  he  would  not 
permit  the  French  army  to  remain  before  Pekin 
after  November  1,  under  any  pretext.  At  the  mo- 
ment when  Prince  Kung  was  still  hesitating  about 
coming  to  terms,  and  when  it  was  to  be  feared  that 
he  might  take  to  flight,  as  the  Emperor  his  brother 
had  done,  thus  bringing  everything  to  a  standstill, 
General  Ignatieff,  Russian  Minister  in  China,  inter- 
posed his  good  offices.  The  Prince  seemed  to  be 
dreading,  on  his  own  account,  a  treachery  similar 
to  that  of  which  the  prisoners  of  Tung-Chau  had 
been  the  victims.  The  general  reassured  him,  and, 
according  to  the  account  of  the  Marine  Magazine, 
went  so  far  as  to  propose  becoming  in  person  a  hos- 
tage in  the  Tartar  camp  while  the  ratifications  of  the 
treaty  were  being  exchanged  between  the  Prince 
and  the  ambassadors  of  England  and  France.  We 
may  add  that,  on  October  18,  the  flames  which  were 
devouring  the  Summer  Palace,  and  which  could  be 

287 


288  NAPOLEON  III 


seen  from  the  ramparts  of  Pekin,  hastened  the  con- 
clusion of  peace.  Fearing  a  bombardment  of  the 
capital,  Prince  Kung  gave  way  before  the  ultimatum 
sent  him,  and  the  allied  powers  were  able  to  obtain 
all  that  they  asked. 

The  clauses  of  the  treaty  concluded  at  Tien-Tsin, 
June  27,  1858,  were  all  confirmed.  The  Chinese 
government  formally  expressed  its  regret  for  the 
attack  on  the  flags  of  France  and  England  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Pei-Ho,  June  25,  1859.  It  paid 
France  eight  millions  of  taels  (sixty  millions  of 
francs),  and  as  much  to  England.  The  religious 
establishments  confiscated  from  the  Christians  dur- 
ing the  persecutions  to  which  they  had  been  sub- 
jected, were  restored.  Peaceable  exercise  of  religion 
and  full  liberty  for  missionary  work  was  granted 
throughout  the  extent  of  the  Empire.  The  port  and 
city  of  Tien-Tsin  were  opened  to  foreign  commerce. 
The  diplomatic  agents  of  the  two  allied  powers 
might  repair  to  Pekin  whenever  an  important  affair 
required  their  presence.  Two  indemnities  of 
1,500,000  francs  each  were  granted  to  France  and 
England  for  the  victims  of  the  Tung-Chau  treach- 
ery and  their  families.  The  signing  of  the  treaties 
and  the  exchange  of  ratifications  took  place  at 
Pekin,  in  the  palace  of  Li-Pu  (Tribunal  of  Rites), 
October  24  for  the  English,  and  October  25  for  the 
French. 

October  24.  —  The  cortege  of  Sir  Hope  Grant  and 
Lord  Elgin  is  composed  of  a  hundred  of  the  Queen's 


THE  TREATY  OF  PEKIN  289 

dragoons  in  very  handsome  uniforms,  fifty  mounted 
Sikhs,  two  regiments  of  English  infantry  of  five  hun- 
dred men  each,  and  a  detachment  of  Sikhs  on  foot. 
Lord  Elgin  makes  his  entry  in  a  palanquin  sur- 
rounded by  sixteen  elegantly  costumed  bearers. 
Toward  Prince  Kung  he  displays  a  studiously 
haughty  demeanor,  as  if  to  convey  the  impression 
that  signing  the  treaty  is  a  mere  act  of  good  nature 
on  the  part  of  the  English,  who  might  have  over- 
thrown the  dynasty  if  so  they  had  chosen. 

October  25.  —  At  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
General  de  Montauban  and  Baron  Gros  begin  their 
march  to  the  palace  of  the  Tribunal  of  Rites,  where 
Prince  Kung  is  awaiting  them.  All  the  troops  of 
the  expeditionary  corps  are  represented  in  their  es- 
cort :  spahis  with  scarlet  mantles  and  new  saddle- 
cloths ;  African  chasseurs,  their  helmets  adorned 
with  sky-blue  turbans ;  a  complete  squadron  of 
mounted  artillery  in  uniforms  made  at  Shanghai  to 
replace  those  lost  on  the  vessel  called  The  Queen  of 
Clipjiers  ;  marines  and  infantry  in  field  uniform. 

The  bugles  and  drums  of  the  entire  French  army, 
accompanied  by  the  band  of  the  101st  of  the  line, 
open  the  march.  Then  comes  Baron  Gros,  a  vete- 
ran of  diplomacy,  aged  sixty-seven.  The  standards 
of  the  101st,  the  102d,  and  that  of  the  marine 
infantry  precede  his  palanquin,  which  is  borne  by 
eight  coolies  in  livery,  their  hats  adorned  with  tri- 
colored  fringe.  The  ambassador  has  on  a  black 
coat,  his  uniform  having  vanished  in  the  shipwreck 
u 


290  NAPOLEON  III 


of  the  Isere.  But  the  members  of  his  embassy, 
grouped  around  him  on  horseback,  are  all  in  uni- 
form. The  treaty  of  Tien-Tsin  and  the  seals  of  the 
embassy  are  carried  in  front  of  him  by  four  non- 
commissioned officers. 

Next  comes  General  de  Montauban,  in  grand  uni- 
form, a  white  plume  in  his  chapeau,  and  riding  a 
superb  horse.  In  spite  of  his  sixty-four  years,  he 
has  the  bearing  of  a  young  man.  He  is  followed  by 
Generals  Collineau  and  Jamin,  Colonels  de  Bentz- 
mann  and  Schmitz,  Commander  Campenon,  Captains 
de  Montauban  and  de  Bouille,  and  all  his  staff. 

Behind  the  general  march  the  troops  of  escort. 
The  artillery  squadron  closes  the  line.  At  the  city 
entrance  fifteen  mounted  mandarins,  in  full  dress, 
receive  and  pay  their  respects  to  the  ambassador, 
and  conduct  him  to  the  Tribunal  of  Rites. 

The  weather  is  magnificent.  A  population  more 
numerous  than  that  of  Paris  on  holidays  throngs  the 
line  of  the  procession  without  showing  the  least  ill- 
will.  There  is  no  disorder.  Mandarins  of  every 
grade  cause  the  crowds  to  circulate  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  leave  open  the  middle  of  the  streets  thirty 
yards  wide  at  the  points  passed  through.  The  pro- 
cession takes  more  than  an  hour  and  a  half  to  cross 
three-quarters  of  the  city,  although  it  does  not  make 
a  single  halt.  At  last  it  arrives  in  front  of  the 
Tribunal  of  Rites. 

The  ambassador  enters  the  court  in  his  palanquin. 
Seeing  Prince  Kung  with  all  his  suite  rise  to  come 


THE  TREATY   OF  PKK1N  291 

toward  him,  he  makes  his  porters  set  him  down,  and 
meets  the  Prince  on  foot  before  the  latter  crosses  the 
threshold  of  the  hall.  Baron  Gros  bows,  and  takes 
the  hand  extended  by  the  Prince,  saying :  "  I  thank 
your  Imperial  Highness  for  kindly  sending  manda- 
rins to  meet  me  at  the  city  gates.  It  pleases  me  to 
come  and  sign  a  peace  which,  I  sincerely  hope,  may 
never  again  be  disturbed  ;  and  I  merely  express 
the  sentiments  of  his  Majest}r  the  Emperor  of  the 
French  in  forming  the  most  earnest  wishes  that  this 
may  be."  The  Prince  again  offers  his  hand  to  the 
ambassador,  and  shows  him  to  the  arm-chair  placed 
for  him  at  his  own  left  (in  China  the  left  is  the 
place  of  honor).  General  de  Montauban  is  on  the 
left  of  Baron  Gros.  The  officers  of  his  staff  and  of 
the  army  occupy  the  left  side  of  the  hall.  MM.  de 
Bastard  and  de  Vernouillet,  secretaries  of  the  em- 
bassy, and  the  two  interpreters  are  between  the 
Prince  and  the  ambassador.  A  crowd  of  mandarins, 
with  buttons  of  all  colors,  fill  the  right  side  of  the 
hall.  Like  the  Prince  himself,  all  of  these  are  in 
robes  of  ceremony,  with  their  double  chaplets  of 
amber  about  their  necks. 

The  Prince  is  the  first  to  sign  the  four  Chinese 
texts  of  the  treaty  of  Pekin,  and  the  ambassador  the 
four  French  ones.  When  the  signatures  have  been 
made  and  the  seals  affixed  to  the  eight  copies,  Baron 
Gros  says  to  the  Prince,  that  peace  having  been  hap- 
pily restored  between  the  two  Empires,  the  French 
artillery  will  fire  a  salute  of  twenty-one  volleys. 


292  NAPOLEON  III 


Thereupon,  Prince  Kung,  who  is  a  young  man  of 
twenty-two,  very  distinguished  in  appearance  and 
manners,  observes  that  he  came  with  full  confidence, 
unattended  by  a  single  soldier,  either  Chinese  or 
Tartar,  to  place  himself  in  the  midst  of  a  French 
army.  Baron  Gros  replies,  "This  confidence 
proves  that  your  Imperial  Highness  knows  the  loy- 
alty of  the  sovereign  whom  I  have  the  honor  to 
represent." 

Next  comes  the  exchange  of  the  ratifications  of 
the  treaty  concluded  at  Tien-Tsin,  June  27,  1858,  of 
which  the  treaty  of  Pekin  is  the  complement. 

Before  withdrawing,  the  ambassador  presents  the 
prince  with  photographs  of  the  Emperor,  the  Em- 
press, and  the  Prince  Imperial.  After  thanking 
Baron  Gros,  Prince  Kung  shakes  hands  with  Gen- 
eral de  Montauban,  and  compliments  him  on  his 
military  talents  and  the  bravery  of  his  soldiers.  It 
is  nightfall  when  the  ceremonies  are  concluded.  As 
the  procession  leaves  the  Tribunal  of  Rites,  a  splendid 
illumination  of  lanterns  fills  the  whole  city  with 
light. 

There  was  at  Pekin  a  Catholic  cemetery  which 
had  been  conceded  to  Portuguese  missionaries  two 
centuries  before.  It  had  been  closed  for  twenty 
years,  but  had  not  been  desecrated  by  the  Chinese, 
who  have  a  respect  for  graves.  In  it  lay  the 
remains  of  several  famous  Jesuit  missionaries,  Ger- 
billon,  Ricci,  and  Shaal,  who  had  been  first  the 
preceptor  and  afterward  the  minister  of  a  Chinese 


THE  TREATY  OF  PEK1N  293 

Emperor.  This  cemetery  had  just  been  restored  to 
Monseigneur  Mouly,  Bishop  of  Pe-Che-Li  and  of 
Pekin.  It  was  decided  that  the  six  French  victims 
of  the  ambush  should  be  buried  there.  The  funeral 
ceremonies  took  place  October  28.  The  army  and 
the  embassy  were  present.  Each  body  was  borne 
upon  an  artillery  wagon,  covered  witli  a  black  velvet 
cloth,  with  a  white  cross.  Sir  Hope  Grant  and  his 
staff  joined  the  procession,  which  was  awaited  at 
the  cemetery  by  General  Ignatieff,  Minister  of 
Russia,  who  had  so  loyally  assisted  France  in  all 
circumstances.  The  last  prayers  were  recited  over 
the  graves  by  Monseigneur  Mouly  and  the  Abbe 
Trogaro,  first  chaplain  of  the  army. 

The  next  day,  October  29,  a  most  imposing  cere- 
mony took  place,  the  fitting  crown  of  an  expedition 
which  ended  like  a  crusade.  After  an  interruption 
of  thirty-five  years,  the  cathedral  of  Pekin  was 
restored  to  Catholic  worship.  Constructed  in  1657, 
rebuilt  in  1707,  restored  after  a  fire  in  1757,  this 
edifice  had  presented  a  very  sorry  aspect  since  it 
had  been  abandoned.  The  iron  cross  surmounting 
it  had  been  torn  down  in  1853,  and  everything  — 
pictures,  stalls,  altars,  confessionals  —  stolen.  Noth- 
ing: but  the  bare  walls  was  left.  The  front  was 
clogged  with  briers  and  brambles.  All  was  put 
in  order  within  a  few  days  by  the  engineer 
corps,  assisted  by  soldiers  of  all  arms,  and  by 
Chinese  and  French  priests.  Remembering  the 
church  of  their    childhood,    where   they  had    been 


294  NAPOLEON  III 


baptized  and  made  their  first  communion,  they 
worked  with  prodigious  activity,  as  if  to  thank 
God  for  having  protected  them  in  this  distant  war. 
All  traces  of  devastation  disappeared.  Pictures, 
chandeliers,  and  candles  were  brought  by  Chinese 
Christians.  The  choir  was  hung  with  blue  and 
white  cotton  stuffs,  amidst  which  rose  a  large 
canopy  whose  curtains  surrounded  the  altar.  Sheafs 
of  tricolored  flags  completed  the  decoration.  The 
iron  cross  had  been  found  and  replaced  on  the  top 
of  the  edifice. 

The  solemnity  of  October  made  all  hearts  throb 
with  emotion.  Tears  stood  in  many  eyes.  The 
solemn  chants  to  which  they  had  been  accustomed 
in  France  obliterated  in  an  instant  the  six  thousand 
leagues  which  separated  the  French  army  from  its 
native  land.  Military  bands  took  the  place  of  an 
organ.  The  Irish  of  the  British  army  joined  their 
French  co-religionists.  When,  surrounded  by  mis- 
sionaries and  Chinese  Catholic  priests,  the  venerable 
Bishop  of  Pekin,  Avho  had  been  facing  martyrdom  in 
China  for  twenty-eight  years,  ascended  the  altar  and 
celebrated  Mass,  the  congregation  were  profoundly 
affected.  At  the  elevation,  the  drums  beat  the 
general,  the  trumpets  sounded,  officers  and  soldiers 
bent  the  knee,  and  the  French  colors,  never  carried 
so  far  before,  bowed  down  before  God.  After  Mass 
the  Domine  salvum  fae  Imperatorem  was  chanted. 
Then  the  Te  Deum  was  intoned  as  an  act  of  thanks- 


THE   TREATY  OF  PEE1N  295 

giving.     Seldom  had  Christianity  obtained   such   a 
triumph. 

The  allied  army  left  Pekin  November  1.  It  was 
about  to  return  to  Europe  after  one  of  the  most 
marvellous  expeditions  recorded  by  history. 


CONCLUSION 

"FN  a  single  year  the  flag  of  France  had  floated  at 
-1-  Rome,  at  Beyrout,  and  at  Pekin.  Had  the 
Syrian  and  Chinese  expeditions  occurred  at  a  period 
when  there  was  complete  accord  between  the  Holy 
See  and  France,  what  hymns  of  thanksgiving  would 
have  resounded  throughout  the  Catholic  world, 
with  what  effusion  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  would 
have  expressed  his  gratitude  to  the  new  Charle- 
magne, defender  of  the  Cross,  and  Eldest  Son  of  the 
Church  !  But  since  Pius  IX.  had  lost  a  part  of  his 
States  and  found  himself  in  danger  of  losing  the 
rest,  he  had  no  more  confidence  in  Napoleon  III. 
The  godfather  of  the  Prince  Imperial  was  no  longer 
the  friend  of  the  Emperor. 

The  Empress,  at  the  close  of  1860,  was  evidently 
much  preoccupied  by  the  aspect  which  affairs  were 
taking  in  Italy.  The  misfortunes  of  two  women, 
in  whose  fate  she  was  interested,  had  affected  her 
painfully.  One  of  these  was  the  Duchess  of  Parma, 
the  other  the  Queen  of  Naples. 

Daughter  and  widow  of  two  princes,  both  of 
whom  had  been  assassinated,  sister  of  a  proscribed 
sovereign,  mother  and  guardian  of  a  child  despoiled 
of  his  inheritance,  the  Duchess  of  Parma  inspired  deep 

296 


CONCLUSION  297 


sympathy  in  the  Empress,  who  greatly  respected  the 
legitimist  party,  and  who  thought  it  would  be  a 
noble  and  chivalric  action  in  the  Emperor  to  defend 
the  sister  of  the  Comte  de  Chambord.  She  had 
made  great  efforts  to  save  the  throne  of  the  young 
Duke  of  Parma,  and  nevertheless  that  throne  had 
fallen.     Was  there  no  portent  for  herself  in  this? 

Nor  could  the  Empress  be  consoled  for  her  inabil- 
ity to  assist  the  heroic  Queen  of  Naples,  who  was 
behaving  like  an  amazon  at  Gaeta  and  sharing  all 
her  husband's  dangers.  The  time  was  approaching 
when  the  French  fleet,  in  spite  of  the  remon- 
strances of  Prussia,  which  asked  to  have  it  remain 
in  the  harbor  of  Gaeta,  was  to  be  recalled  in  order 
to  please  England,  and  when  Francis  II.  would  be 
obliged  to  capitulate  after  a  long  and  honorable 
resistance.  The  Empress  was  of  the  same  mind  as 
the  Due  de  Gramont,  who  wrote  at  the  time  to  M. 
Thouvenel :  "  We  are  looking  on  at  the  last  efforts 
of  this  unfortunate  King  of  Naples,  who  will  perish 
within  a  few  hours,  the  victim  of  the  most  odious 
act  of  which  it  is  possible  to  form  a  conception  ! 
You  cannot  imagine  how  extremely  painful  it  is  to 
see  one's  self  involved  in  the  sufferings  of  this  death 
agony,  willingly  or  not,  refusing  an  end  of  rope  to 
a  man  just  going  under  the  water,  or  rather,  dan- 
gling one  too  short  for  him  to  catch  hold  of  just 
above  his  head." 

So,  too,  the  Empress  might  have  signed  her  own 
name  to  this  other  letter  of  December  29,  in  which 


298  NAPOLEON  III 


the  same  ambassador  said  to  M.  Thouvenel :  "I 
think  that  Italy  one  is  a  detestable  thing  for  France, 
and  that  if,  unhappily,  the  Emperor  lends  himself  to 
this  combination,  France  will  some  day  call  him 
and  those  who  may  cooperate  with  him  to  a  severe 
account.  Now,  the  existence  of  the  Pope  at  Rome  as 
a  temporal  power  prevents  the  unity  of  Italy.  For 
that  reason,  even  if  for  no  other,  we  ought  to  sustain 
him  there.  Moreover,  the  Emperor  cannot  desert 
this  temporal  power  without  perjuring  himself  in 
face  of  the  whole  world,  and  that  is  a  possibility 
which  I  cannot  induce  myself  to  discuss.  One  thing 
is  certain,  and  that  is  that  I  shall  protest  with  all 
my  conscience  against  such  a  solution."  That  is 
what  the  Empress  was  going  to  do.  Up  to  the  close 
of  her  reign  she  was  to  employ  all  her  influence  over 
the  mind  of  her  husband  to  defend  the  cause  of  the 
Holy  See.  She  became  a  female  politician,  a  new 
role  destined  to  be  filled  with  bitterness  for  her. 
The  year  1860  had  been  the  beginning  of  her  trials, 
and  her  task  became  every  day  more  difficult.  Al- 
ready she  foreboded  that  the  enchantments  of  the 
early  days  of  her  reign  were  but  the  prelude  to 
terrible  tragedies.  But  in  1860  the  Empress  was 
probably  the  only  woman  of  the  court  who  had 
any  apprehensions  about  the  future.  Most  of  the 
others,  carried  away  by  the  social  whirl,  dazzled  by 
the  splendors  of  life  in  Paris,  took  an  untroubled 
pleasure  in  the  prosperity  of  France.  Even  the 
Empress  herself,  after   a  period  of   retirement   and 


CONCLUSION  299 


sadness  which  lasted  several  months  and  suppressed 
for  that  year  the  customary  fetes  at  Compiegne,  was 
to  resume  in  1861  all  her  representative  duties  and 
all  the  splendors  of  her  brilliant  life  as  sovereign. 

As  to  the  Emperor,  he  felt  satisfied,  on  the  whole, 
when  he  recapitulated  the  events  of  the  year.  He 
rightly  considered  the  annexation  of  Savoy  and 
Nice  as  the  greatest  success  of  his  reign.  Far  from 
diminishing,  his  sympathies  with  the  Italian  cause 
went  on  increasing  day  by  day,  and  because  his 
uncle  had  been  Emperor  of  the  French  and  King 
of  Italy,  he  believed  that  he  also  had  two  coun- 
tries in  which  he  was  equally  interested.  Pursuing 
the  current  of  his  cosmopolitan  schemes  and  humani- 
tarian policy,  he  dreamed  of  a  moral  and  material 
solidarity  between  all  nations,  a  sort  of  European 
federation,  and  fancied  himself  called  to  realize  — 
thanks  to  the  principle  of  nationalities  —  the  visions 
of  the  Memorial  from  Saint-Helena.  To  his  mind, 
the  private  interests  of  France  came  second  to  the 
general  interests  of  mankind  at  large.  The  great 
agglomerations  which  might  take  form  beside  his 
empire  did  not  alarm  him.  The  republicans  almost 
without  exception,  and  several  great  organs  of  the 
public  press  with  Orleanist  tendencies,  such  as  the 
Journal  des  Debats  and  the  Revue  des  Deux-Mbndes, 
encouraged  him  in  his  condescension  toward  Italy 
and  Prussia.  He  fancied  that  he  would  never  have 
anything  to  dread  at  the  hands  of  these  two  powers, 
and  believed  that  in  the  court  of  Berlin  he  would 


300  NAPOLEON  III 


find  a  useful  auxiliary  for  that  emancipation  of  Ven- 
ice which  would  complete  his  unfinished  programme 
of  1859  :  "  Italy  free  from  the  Alps  to  the  Adri- 
atic." 

Apostle  of  the  principle  of  nationalities,  Napoleon 
III.  was  doomed  to  be  its  martyr.  To  this  cause  he 
was  to  sacrifice  the  most  precious  of  all  his  friend- 
ships —  that  with  Russia.  And  yet  he  ought  not  to 
have  forgotten  that  without  this  power  he  could  not 
have  obtained  his  successes  in  1860.  It  was  Russia 
which  had  balked  the  coalition  schemes  by  which 
England  had  attempted  to  prevent  the  annexation 
of  Savoy  and  Nice  to  France.  It  was  also  Russia 
which  had  baffled  English  intrigues  by  facilitating 
the  Syrian  expedition  and  taking  no  umbrage  at  the 
glorious  part  assumed  by  France.  It  was  Russia 
which,  by  means  of  the  good  offices  of  General  Igna- 
tieff,  had  contributed  in  the  most  effacious  manner 
to  the  successful  conclusion  of  the  treaty  of  Pekin. 
In  spite  of  the  so-called  English  alliance,  Napoleon 
III.  had  met  nothing  but  hindrances  at  London. 
At  St.  Petersburg,  on  the  contrary,  he  had  found 
nothing  but  good-will  and  sympathy.  So  long  as 
he  remains  loyal  to  the  Stuttgart  compact,  he  will 
be  sure  to  avoid  all  catastrophes.  But  he  will  sac- 
rifice to  the  principle  of  nationalities,  to  the  cause  of 
Poland,  that  one  of  all  his  alliances  which  might 
have  been  to  him  the  most  useful,  the  most  durable, 
the  most  fruitful.  It  is  also  for  the  principle  of 
nationalities,   for   the    deliverance   of   Venice,   that 


CONCLUSION  301 


Napoleon  III.  will  become  the  chief  promoter  of 
that  accord  between  Turin  and  Berlin  which  will 
result  in  Sadowa  and  Sedan. 

In  1860,  the  Emperor  foresaw  nothing  of  all  this. 
He  did  not  suspect  the  bitter  disillusions  which  his 
personal  policy  was  preparing  for  him  ;  and,  where 
his  internal  policy  was  concerned,  he  could  not 
imagine  that  his  adversaries  would  employ  against 
him  the  liberal  concessions  he  had  made  with  such 
spontaneous  generosity.  Devoted  to  free-trade 
ideas,  he  thought  that  by  the  commercial  treaty  he 
had  sown  seeds  from  which  immense  and  beneficent 
harvests  would  be  reaped.  For  humanity,  he 
dreamed  of  the  cessation  of  the  age  of  iron  and  the 
coming  of  the  age  of  gold.  As  everything  had  suc- 
ceeded with  him  from  the  beginning  of  his  reign,  he 
believed  that  his  eagles  soared  above  the  lightning. 
Happy  husband,  happy  father,  happy  sovereign,  he 
peacefully  enjoyed  a  situation  so  widely  different 
from  the  painful  trials  of  his  childhood  and  youth. 
He  looked  forward  to  the  future  with  confidence, 
and  believed  more  than  ever  in  his  star. 


INDEX 


Abd-el-Kader,  during  Syrian  mas- 
sacres, 152,  153;  receives  grand 
cross  of  Legion  of  Honor,  187. 

Abdul-Medjid,  Sultan  of  Turkey, 
accepts  broad  ribbon  of  tne 
Legion  of  Honor,  56;  letter  to 
Napoleon  III.,  154. 

Academy,  French,  its  attitude  on 
the  Roman  Question,  36-38. 

Alba,  Duchess  of,  death  of  the, 
184 ;  the  Empress  apprised  of  it, 
189. 

Antouelli,  Cardinal,  despatch  to 
the  Nuncio  at  Paris,  109 ;  reply 
toCavour's  ultimatum,  176,  177. 

Beaufort  d'Hautpoul,  General  de, 
proclamation  on  taking  com- 
mand of  Syrian  expedition,  214. 

Beaulaincourt,  Comtesse  de,  let- 
ters from  Berlin,  141,  142. 

Bonaparte,  King  Jerome,  death 
and  obsequies  of,  148. 

Bretagne,  The,  suppressed  for  pub- 
lishing the  collective  letter  of 
MM.  de  Cuverville,  Keller,  and 
Lemercier,  members  of  the  Corps 
Legislatif ,  36. 

Cavour,  Count  Camillo,  returns 
to  power,  63;  described  by  the 
Comte  d'Ideville,  83;  speech  on 
the  ratification  of  the  treaty  of 
Turin,  89;  sketch  of,  99  et  seq.; 
sends  ultimatum  to  Antonelli, 
176;  important  letter  to  Talley- 
rand, 182;  defends  Garibaldi, 
193 ;  notifies  resident  minister  in 
Turin  of  the  Two  Sicilies,  that 
Sardinia  will  invade  that  king- 
dom, 228. 


Chambord,  Comte  de,  not  unfavor- 
able to  Napoleon  III.  until  the 
latter  broke  with  the  Pope,  39. 

Chapdelaine,  M.,  French  mission- 
ary martyred  in  China,  21. 

China,  causes  of  war  with,  21,  22; 
departure  for,  of  French  army 
corps,  25;  war  in,  259  et  seq.; 
Chinese  emperor's  proclamation, 
270,  271. 

Cobden,  Richard,  signs  for  Eng- 
land the  commercial  treaty,  26 ; 
interviews  with  Napoleon  III., 
28,  29. 

Collineau,  French  general  in  China, 
261,  274  et  seq. 

Cvrrespondant,  Le,  threatened 
with  suppression,  35. 

Cousin,  Victor,  on  the  Roman 
Question,  37,  38. 

Cuverville,  M.  de,  refused  audience 
on  the  Roman  Question,  36. 

Du  Camp,  Maxime,  quoted,  245, 
249,  250. 

Dupanloup,  Bishop  of  Orleans, 
what  he  thought  of  the  brochure 
The  Pope  and  the  Congress,  34 ; 
favors  Lacordaire's  election  to 
the  French  Academy,  37. 

Elgin,  Lord,  ambassador  of  Eng- 
land in  China,  burns  the  Summer 
Palace,  286. 

England,  commercial  treaty  with, 
26  et  seq. ;  attitude  with  regard 
to  Nice  and  Savoy,  66,  73,  74  et 
seq.,%\,  82,242,  243. 

Eugenie,  Empress,  efforts  of,  on 
behalf  of  the  temporal  power,  5 ; 


303 


304 


INDEX 


her  beauty  admired  by  the  Arab 
chiefs  in  Algiers,  185;  grief  at 
her  sister's  death,  190;  afflicted 
by  the  news  from  Rome  and 
Naples,  190, 191 ;  goes  to  England 
incognita,  250  et  seq. 

Fleury,  General,  quoted  on  De 
Montauban,  23;  on  the  vicissi- 
tudes of  human  affairs,  189. 

Forcade,  M.  Eugene,  quoted  on 
the  inopportuneness  of  annexing 
Nice  and  Savoy,  68  et  seq. ;  de- 
fends annexation  when  accom- 
plished, 85;  on  the  decree  of 
November  24,  255,  256. 

Francis  II.  of  Naples,  135  et  seq. ; 
tries  to  negotiate  a  treaty  with 
Victor  Emmanuel,  221;  forced 
to  leave  Naples,  224;  defends 
himself  at  Gaeta,  226,  227. 

Fuad  Pasha,  commissioned  to  re- 
store order  in  Syria,  155;  sent  to 
punish  the  Druses  and  aids  them 
to  escape,  216-218. 

Garibaldi,  Giuseppe,  sketch  of,  129 
et  seq. ;  proclaims  the  reunion 
of  the  Two  Sicilies  to  Italy,  230 ; 
meets  Victor  Emmanuel  at 
Teano,  244 ;  refused  unlimited 
power  in  the  Two  Sicilies  and 
retires  to  Caprera,  246,  247. 

Giacometti,  M.,  his  book  on  Italian 
Unity  quoted,  64,  65,  228,  234. 

Gorce,  M.  de  La,  quoted,  101,  204. 

Gortchakoff,  Prince,  Russian  Min- 
ister of  Foreign  Affairs ;  diplo- 
matic protest  against  the  policy 
of  Victor  Emmanuel,  231,  232. 

Goyon,  General  de,  incident  at  the 
New  Year's  reception  at  the 
Vatican,  3 ;  sketch  of,  195,  196. 

Gramont,  Due  de,  French  ambas- 
sador at  Rome;  describes  in- 
cident at  the  Vatican,  2,  3; 
difficulties  of  his  position  in 
Rome,  111  et  seq. 

Greville,  Sir  Charles,  quoted,  33. 


Gros,  Baron,  ambassador  of  France 

in  China,  263,  264. 
Guizot,  M.,  takes  the  side  of  the 

Pope  against  the  Emperor,  36. 

He'risson,  Comte  d',  his  Journal 
d'un  Interprete  en  Chine  quoted, 
262,  270,  276,  277. 

Ignatieff,  General,  Russian  min- 
ister in  China,  interposes  in 
favor  of  peace,  287. 

Kung,  Prince,  succeeds  Prince  Tsa'i 
as  Chinese  commissioner  and 
concludes  peace,  278,  288-292. 

Lacordaire,  French  Dominican, 
favored  the  War  of  Italy,  but  ad- 
hered to  the  Pope  against  Victor 
Emmanuel,  37 :  his  pamphlet,  38. 

Lagrange,  l'Abbe,  describes  Dupan- 
loup's  reception  of  the  brochure 
The  Pope  and  the  Congress,  34. 

Lamoriciere,  General  de,  sketch 
of,  117  et  seq.;  Persigny's  opin- 
ion of  him,  119 ;  proclamation  on 
assuming  command  at  Rome, 
207, 208 ;  surrenders  Ancona,  209. 

Merode,  Monseigneur  de,  sketch  of, 
116 ;  induces  Lamoriciere  to  enter 
the  Pope's  service,  117. 

Montauban,  General  de,  sketch  of, 
23-25 ;  exploits  in  China,  259,  261 
et  seq. 

Montebello,  Due  de,  French  am- 
bassador to  Russia,  despatch 
from,  77. 

Napoleon  III.,  reply  to  address  of 
the  diplomatic  corps,  1 ;  reply  to 
letter  from  Victoria,  2;  letter  to 
the  Pope,  10 ;  letter  to  M.  Fould, 
15  et  seq. ;  organizes  the  Chinese 
expedition,  20  et  seq. ;  the  Roman 
Question  the  sole  cause  of  trouble 
between  him  and  the  clergy,  33; 
suppresses  journals  which  decry 
his  policy,  36;   speech  from  the 


INDEX 


305 


throne,  47  et  seq. ;  annexes  Nice 
and  Savoy,  64,  66  et  seq. ;  takes 
his  stand  on  the  Italian  Question, 
134;  interview  with  German 
sovereigns  at  Baden,  142  et  seq. ; 
letter  to  Persigny  on  his  inten- 
tions concerning  Syria,  158  et 
seq. ;  authorizes  invasion  of  the 
Papal  States,  166 ;  his  ambiguous 
phrases,  170,  171,  194;  institutes 
liberal  reforms,  253  et  seq. 

Perrette,  M.  Jules,  on  the  Syrian 
massacres,  149,  150. 

Persigny,  Due  de,  on  Lamoriciere 
as  commander  of  the  Papal  army, 
119 ;  his  idea  of  how  to  use  him 
in  the  interests  of  France,  120; 
on  the  consequences  of  Castel- 
fidardo,  205,  206. 

Pimodan,  Marquis  de,  sketch  of, 
124  et  seq. ;  quoted  on  the  com- 
position of  the  Papal  army,  127 ; 
wounded  at  Castelfidardo,  203; 
buried  in  Rome,  210. 

Pius  IX.,  his  New  Year's  allocu- 
tion, 4;  why  he  could  not  cede 
Papal  territory,  10,  109;  ency- 
clical of  January  19,  35;  letter 
to  Victor  Emmanuel,  97;  early 
kindness  to  Louis  Napoleon,  106, 
107 ;  resolves  to  use  force  in  de- 
fending his  States,  116. 

Rosina,  morganatic  wife  of  Victor 
Emmanuel,  102,  103. 

Russell,  Lord  John,  despatch  to 
English  minister  at  Turin  ex- 
pressing England's  entire  ap- 
proval of  the  Piedmontese  policy, 
242,243. 

Schleinitz,  Baron  von,  Prussian 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  offi- 


cially censures  the  invasion  of 

the  Papal  States,  233,  234. 
Ste'phanie,     Grand     Duchess     of 

Baden,  sketch   of,  41    et   seq. ; 

descendants  of,  44,  45. 
Syrian  massacres,  promoted  by  the 

Turkish  government,  150. 

Talleyrand,  Baron  de,  French  min- 
ister at  Turin,  sketch  of,  175. 

Thouvenel,  M.,  succeeds  Walewski 
in  the  Foreign  Office,  11;  sketch 
of,  52  et  seq. ;  attitude  on  the 
Italian  Question,  61,  62;  de- 
spatches concerning  the  inva- 
sion of  the  Papal  States,  168, 169 ; 
memorandum  on  Italian  affairs, 
238  et  seq. 

Trochu,  General,  Napoleon's  opin- 
ion of,  23 ;  declines  command  of 
the  Chinese  expedition,  23. 

Tsa'i,  Prince,  Chinese  commis- 
sioner, perfidy  of,  267,  268. 

Victor  Emmanuel,  address  to  the 
Savoyards,  86,  87 ;  sketch  of,  91 
et  seq. ;  feelings  toward  Gari- 
baldi, 133,  134;  proclamation  to 
army  on  entering  the  States  of 
the  Church,  177 ;  meets  Gari- 
baldi at  Teano,  244. 

Victoria,  Queen,  letter  to  Napo- 
leon HI.,  2;  becomes  unfriendly 
to  him,  156,  157. 

Walewski,  Comte  de,  resigns  office, 
6  et  seq. ;  the  London  Morning 
Post  on  the  meaning  of  his  resig- 
nation, 12. 

Winspeare,  Baron,  minister  of  the 
Two  Sicilies  at  Turin,  protests 
against  their  occupation  by  Sar- 
dinia, 228,  229. 


THE  SECOND   FRENCH   EMPIRE 

By  IMBERT  DE  SAINT-AMAND. 


Volume  V.  of  the  Series  just  ready. 

NAPOLEON  III.  AT  THE  HEIGHT  OF  HIS  POWER. 

With  Portraits,  \itno,  $1.50. 

This  is  the  fifth  volume  in  the  series  devoted  to  the  Court  of  the 
Second  Empire,  and  records  the  events  following  the  war  with  Austria 
for  the  liberation  of  Italy  in  the  author's  well-known  intimate  and  popu- 
lar manner.  The  period  here  covered  is  that  at  which  Napoleon  III. 
touched  the  height  of  his  career,  both  initiated  and  controlled  political 
movements  of  vast  moment,  and  figured  as  the  real  arbiter  of  Europe. 

The  present  volume  contains  some  of  the  most  interesting  events  of 
modern  European  history.  The  peace  of  Villafranca  left  important 
questions  unsettled.  It  was  followed  by  a  most  exciting  readjustment 
of  the  map  of  Italy,  whereby  Nice  and  Savoy  became  French;  Central 
Italy,  outside  of  Rome,  united  itself  with  the  Piedmontese  kingdom,  and 
through  Garibaldi's  romantic  and  adventurous  campaign  Naples  and 
Sicily  were  also  added  to  Victor  Emmanuel's  domains.  The  Syrian 
massacres  and  the  war  with  China  are  also  vividly  described. 

Already  Published, 

Each  with  Portraits,  xzmo,  $1.30. 

Vol.  I.  — LOUIS   NAPOLEON   AND   MADEMOISELLE 
DE  MONTIJO. 

II.  —  NAPOLEON   III.  AND  HIS  COURT. 

III.  — THE   COURT   OF  THE   SECOND   EMPIRE 

(1856-58). 

IV.  — FRANCE  AND  ITALY. 

"  M.  de  Saint- Amand,"  says  the  New  York  Times,  "  has  a  graceful 
and  fluent  pen,  and  just  the  qualities  of  mind  and  temper  suited  to  his 
task."  

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS,   Publishers, 

153-157  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York. 
1 


FAMOUS    WOMEN    OF    THE    FRENCH    COURT. 


**  In  these  translations  of  this  interesting  series  of  sketches,  we  have 
found  an  unexpected  amount  of  pleasure  and  profit.  The  author  cites 
for  us  passages  from  forgotten  diaries,  hitherto  unearthed  letters,  extracts 
from  public  proceedings,  and  the  like,  and  contrives  to  combine  and 
arrange  his  material  so  as  to  make  a  great  many  very  vivid  and  pleas- 
ing pictures.  Nor  is  this  all.  The  material  he  lays  before  us  is  of  real 
value,  and  much,  if  not  most  of  it,  must  be  unknown  save  to  the  special 
students  of  the  period.  We  can,  therefore,  cordially  commend  these 
books  to  the  attention  of  our  readers.  They  will  find  them  attractive  in 
their  arrangement,  never  dull,  with  much  variety  of  scene  and  incident, 
and  admirably  translated."  —  The  Nation. 

"  Indeed,  a  certain  sanity  of  vision  is  one  of  M.  de  Saint- Amand's 
characteristics.  ...  He  evidently  finds  it  no  difficult  task  to  do  justice 
to  Legitimist  and  Imperialist,  to  the  old  world  that  came  to  an  end  with 
the  Revolution  and  to  the  new  world  that  sprang  from  the  old  world's 
ashes.  Nor  do  his  qualifications  as  a  popular  historian  end  here.  Ht 
has  the  gift  of  so  marshalling  his  facts  as  to  leave  a  definite  impression. 
These  are  but  short  books  on  great  subjects  ;  for  M.  de  Saint- Amand  is 
not  at  all  content  to  chronicle  the  court  life  of  his  three  heroines,  and 
writes  almost  more  fully  about  their  times  than  he  does  about  themselves; 
tut  yet  comparatively  short  as  the  books  may  be,  they  tell  their  story,  in 
many  respects,  better  than  some  histories  of  greater  pretensions." —Th* 
Academy,  London. 

FOUR  VOLUMES  ON  WOMEN  OF  THE  VALOIS  AND  VERSAILLES  COURTS. 

tmck  with  Portraits,  $1.25.    Price  per  set,  in  box,  cloth,  $5.00;  half  calf t  $10.00. 

WOMEN   OF  THE  VALOIS  COURT. 
THE  COURT  OF  LOUIS  XIV. 
THE  COURT  OF  LOUIS  XV. 
THE  LAST  YEARS  OF  LOUIS  XV. 

The  splendid  pageantry  of  the  court  over  which  Catherine  de'  Medici  presided 
and  in  which  she  intrigued,  and  the  contrasting  glories  and  shames  of  the  long  reigns 
of  the  "  Sun  King  "  and  of  Louis  XV.  are  the  subjects  of  these  four  volumes  which 
depict  the  most  brilliant  days  of  the  Valois  and  Bourbon  dynasties. 

a 


FAMOUS   WOMEN  OF  THE  FRENCH  COURT 


THREE  VOLUMES  ON  MARIE  ANTOINETTE. 

Etch  with  Portrait,  $1.25.    Price  per  tet,  in  box,  cloth,  $3.75;  half  calf,  $7.99. 

MARIE  ANTOINETTE  AND   THE   END  OF  THE  OLD  REGIME. 

MARIE  ANTOINETTE   AT  THE  TUILERIES. 

MARIE  ANTOINETTE  AND  THE  DOWNFALL  OF  ROYALTY. 

In  this  series  is  unfolded  the  tremendous  panorama  of  political  events  In  which 
the  unfortunate  Queen  had  so  influential  a  share,  beginning  with  the  days  imme- 
diately preceding  the  Revolution,  when  court  life  at  Versailles  was  so  gay  and  unsus- 
pecting, continuing  with  the  enforced  journey  of  the  royal  family  to  Paris,  and  the 
agitating  months  passed  in  the  Tuileries,  together  with  the  ill-starred  and  unsuccess- 
ful attempt  to  escape  from  French  territory,  and  concluding  with  the  abolition  of 
loyalty.  th«  proclamation  of  the  Republic,  and  the  imprisonment  of  the  royal  family, 
—the  initial  stage  of  their  progress  to  the  guillotine. 

THREE  VOLUMES  ON  THE  EMPRESS  JOSEPHINE. 

Each  with  Portrait,  $1.25.     Price  per  set,  in  box,  cloth,  $3.75;  halfc*\f,  $7.JO> 

CITIZENESS    BONAPARTE. 

THE  WIFE  OF  THE   FIRST  CONSUL. 

THE  COURT  OF  THE  EMPRESS  JOSEPHINE. 

The  romantic  and  eventful  period  beginning  with  Josephine's  marriage  to  the 
young  commander  whose  "  whiff  of  grapeshot "  had  just  saved  France  from  anarchy, 
and  whose  wonderful  career  was  about  to  begin,  comprises  the  astonishing  Italian 
campaign,  in  which  the  power  of  Austria  was  so  unexpectedly  and  completely  hum- 
bled, the  Egyptian  expedition,  the  coup  d'itat  of  Brumaire,  and  is  described  in  the 
first  of  the  above  volumes;  while  the  second  treats  of  the  brilliant  society  which  issued 
from  the  chaos  of  the  Revolution,  and  over  which  Madame  Bonaparte  presided  so 
charmingly ;  and  the  third,  of  the  events  between  the  assumption  of  the  imperial  title 
by  Napoleon  and  the  end  of  1807,  including,  of  course,  the  Austerlitz  campaign. 

FOUR  VOLUMES  ON  THE  EMPRESS  MARIE  LOUISE. 

Emeh  with  Portrait,  $1.35.    Price  per  set,  in  box,  cloth,  $500;  half  calf,  $10.08. 

THE  HAPPY   DAYS  OF  MARIE  LOUISE. 

MARIE  LOUISE  AND  THE   DECADENCE  OF  THE   EMPIRE. 

MARIE   LOUISE  AND  THE   INVASION   OF   1814. 

MARIE  LOUISE.  THE  RETURN  FROM  ELBA,  AND  THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

The  auspicious  marriage  of  the  Archduchess  Marie  Louise  to  the  master  of 
Europe;  the  Russian  invasion,  with  its  disastrous  conclusion  a  few  years  later;  the 
Dresden  and  Leipsic  campaign;  the  invasion  of  France  by  the  Allies,  and  the  mar- 
vellous military  strategy  of  Napoleon  in  1814,  ending  only  with  his  defeat  and  exile 
to  Elba;  his  life  in  his  little  principality;  his  romantic  escape  and  dramatic  return  to 
France;  the  preparations  of  the  Hundred  Days;  Waterloo  and  the  definitive  restora- 
tion of  Louis  XVIII.,  closing  the  era  begun  in  1780,  with  "The  End  of  the  Old 
Regime,"  —  are  the  subjects  of  the  four  volumes  grouped  around  the  personality  of 
Marie  Louiac. 

s 


FAMOUS    WOMEN  OF  THE  FRENCH  COURT 

TWO   VOLUMES   ON  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANQOULlME. 
Each  with  Portrait,  $1.33.     Price  /er  set,  in  Box,  cloth,  $3.50;  half  calf,  $5.0* 
THE  YOUTH   OF  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME. 
THE   DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME  AND  THE  TWO   RESTORATIONS. 

The  period  covered  in  this  first  of  these  volumes  begins  with  the  life  of  the 
daughter  of  Louis  XVI.  and  Marie  Antoinette  imprisoned  in  the  Temple  after  the 
execution  of  her  parents,  and  ends  with  the  accession  of  Louis  XVIII.  after  the  abdica- 
tion of  Napoleon  at  Fontainebleau.  The  first  Restoration,  its  illusions,  the  characters 
of  Louis  XVIII. ,  of  his  brother,  afterwards  Charles  X.,  of  the  Dukes  of  Angouleme 
and  Berry,  s»ns  of  the  latter,  the  life  of  the  Court,  the  feeling  of  the  city,  Napoleon's 
sudden  return  from  Elba,  the  Hundred  Days  from  the  Royalist  side,  the  second 
Restoration,  and  the  vengeance  taken  by  the  new  government  on  the  Imperialists, 
form  the  subject-matter  of  the  second  volume. 

THREE  VOLUMES  ON  THE  DUCHESS  OF  BERRY. 
Each  with  Portrait,  $1.25.    Price  per  set,  in  box,  cloth,  $3.75;  half  calf,  $7.5* 
THE   DUCHESS  OF   BERRY  AND  THE  COURT  OF  LOUIS  XVIII. 
THE   DUCHESS  OF   BERRY  AND  THE  COURT  OF  CHARLES  X. 
THE  DUCHESS  OF   BERRY  AND  THE   REVOLUTION   OF  JULY,  1830 

The  Princess  Marie  Caroline,  of  Naples,  became,  upon  her  marriage  with  the 
Duke  of  Berry,  the  central  figure  of  the  French  Court  during  the  reigns  of  both 
Louis  XVIII.  and  Charles  X.  The  former  of  these  was  rendered  eventful  by  the 
assassination  of  her  husband  and  the  birth  of  her  son,  the  Count  of  Chambord;  and 
the  latter  was  from  the  first  marked  by  those  reactionary  tendencies  which  resulted 
in  the  dethronement  and  exile  of  the  Bourbons.  The  dramatic  Revolution  which 
brought  about  the  July  monarchy  of  Louis  Philippe  has  never  been  more  vividly 
and  intelligently  described  than  in  the  last  volume  devoted  to  the  Duchess  of  Berry 

THE  REVOLUTION  OF  7848. 

With  Four  Portraits.    Price  $1.25. 

M.  Irabert  de  Saint-Amand's  volume  on  "  The  Duchess  of  Berry  and  the  Revo- 
lution of  1830,"  which  described  the  turbulent  accession  of  Louis  Philippe  to  the 
throne  of  France,  is  followed  by  the  account  of  the  Citizen  King's  equally  agitated 
abdication  and  exile  during  the  Revolution  of  1848.  As  always,  the  historian  writes 
from  the  inside,  and  his  description  of  the  exciting  events  of  the  February  days  that 
led  to  the  overthrow  of  the  Orleanist  dynasty,  the  flight  of  the  last  king  France  has 
had,  and  the  dramatically  sudden  establishment  of  the  Second  Republic  is  famliar 
and  intimate  rather  than  formal,  and  the  reader  gets  a  view  of  what  passed  behind 
the  scenes  as  well  as  on  the  stage,  at  that  interesting  and  fateful  moment 


CHARLES   SCRIBNER'S   SONS,  Publishers, 

153-157  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York. 

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